Dark Horizons
by Surewind
Summary: My first novel. Part 1 of a trilogy. This is not Mobius as you know it. This story tells the tale of how one nation can stand alone against insurmountable odds, how old friends are not always forgotten and how sometimes the enemy of your enemy can truly become your best friend. Contains violence, gore, swearing and occasional adult theme. This is Mobius how I think it should be.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

The realm of Acorn is at War. For the last four years it has fought alone against an ever increasing list of enemies who want nothing more than to strip it of its wealth, enslave its people and rule in terror over its fertile ground. The Dakar tribal raiders and Wolvine nation have finally ended their years of border conflict and united to form a dangerous alliance against their peaceful neighbour. Supposed friends watch on through uncaring eyes whilst the brave men and women of the realm buy each day of freedom with their lives.

Amongst the chaos, Sally, queen of the realm of Acorn sits powerless, unable to provide the answers which will avert the ever present bloodshed and destruction of her proud subjects. Surrounded by corruption, political intrigue and incompetence, her short reign looks set to end in the extinction of everything she holds dear.

And now, yet another foe enters unseen into the cauldron of battle. Though its purpose is yet unclear, the dark legion, sworn enemies of the floating island, play their opening hand in a new move which could finally seal the realm of Acorn's fate.

This story tells the tale of how one nation can stand alone against insurmountable odds, how old friends are not always forgotten and how sometimes the enemy of your enemy can truly become your best friend.


	2. Chapter 1 Unwelcome Visitors

**Unwelcome Visitors**

Like ghosts in the night they came, unseen and unannounced. The sleepy and picturesque village of Greenwater simply didn't stand a chance. All it had taken to seal the village's fate was an insignificant mark on a tactical map, placed completely at random by uncaring hands.

The flight of four midnight black viper gunships lurched to a hover, sound bafflers working overtime to eliminate as much of the loud engine noise as possible. Dust clouds billowed out below them as they descended to the dirty ground spraying small stones like missiles in all directions. When the vipers were still a couple of feet from the ground, access hatches on the rear and sides of each aircraft opened with a hiss of hydraulics and the dark legionnaire squads they carried dropped silently to the ground. Adopting well practiced and perfectly orchestrated drills; the squads spread out to cover all arcs of fire whilst the gunships gained height once again and finally took off into the star studded sky. The vipers would remain on station for the duration of the mission to provide air superiority and also lend their considerable firepower to the slaughter when the attack commenced.

Kalhadra Vesp, archon of the eighth chapter of the dark legion, took a moment to savour the crisp and clean air as the dust cloud settled slowly around her. The ride to the target had only been short but in order to reduce the amount of aircraft they required she had ordered her squad leaders to cram as many troops into the small transport bays of the aircraft as possible. Although it was theoretically impossible that the enemy could detect the aircraft on route to the target, as each of the vipers boasted the very best stealth technology, she had not become an archon by taking unnecessary chances.

Even though this mission was tedious it was important to her superiors that they have an accurate gauge of the reaction time of the enemy. Therefore success was critical to her future career in the dark legion.

Failure due to incompetence was not taken lightly amongst her betters and reprimand was very often terminal.

Velkor, her second in command, contacted her via their personal communications link as the aircraft disappeared from view. "Archon, all troops are deployed as per your instructions. I have taken the pleasure of dispatching the forward reconnaissance parties to the designated cut off points to prevent anybody escaping. The noose has been lowered around the target and your men stand ready, what are your orders my lady?"

Truth be told, she actually liked Velkor. The veteran was an excellent soldier, feared by his subordinates, ruthlessly efficient in battle and had more active combat experience than anyone else in the chapter. What was left of his visible skin was crisscrossed with old combat scars and she knew that underneath the armour he wore, his entire body was a scorched mess caused by a plasma reactor that had detonated many years before at close range. The blast would have killed most other individuals but Velkor was clearly made of sterner stuff and he had amazingly returned to combat within a month. She had also been present when he had suffered a head shot six years ago during a skirmish with some of the loyalist forces. A random shot ripped open his mouth and cheeks, fried the muscle tissue and left him with a perpetual scowl. Even after the shot he had continued to fight on before collapsing hours later. That particular feat of determination won him acclaim amongst the common soldiery and the grudging respect of many high ranking officers in the legion. It was also enough for him to be promoted to the executive officer of the eighth chapter and as such, the second in line to her predecessor. When Kale perished, the leadership of the eighth should have passed immediately to Velkor. However the grandmaster had overridden the tradition and installed Kalhadra instead, ignoring the council of the other chapter archons. Personal insults of that severity did not fade away with time and regardless how much brainwashing Velkor had received since then, the fear of retribution was always present. Kalhadra didn't trust him but he had never had cause to doubt his loyalty, he had even saved her life on more than one occasion.

"Commence the mission Velkor, spare no-one, I want to be able to walk back to the vipers on the back of corpses and never have my feet touch the ground" she ordered.

"Understood my lady, it will be done"

Kalhadra watched as her adjutant began to deploy the squads under his command and without so much as a sound; the forty legionnaires started to move in the direction of the unsuspecting village. She nodded approvingly at their professionalism.

"Are you not going to bloody your own hands archon?" a silvery and deceptively delicious voice whispered from the darkness immediately behind her.

Kalhadra rounded on its owner, angry at the mocking undertone in the statement. "If I wanted you to speak I would have asked you"

The female assassin simply smiled as she was scolded. On anyone else it might have been considered beautiful but Kalhadra knew too well the unhinged killer instinct that resided behind the expression. It was like being smiled at by a loaded gun.

"Very well archon" Morgentha bowed mockingly.

Kalhadra hadn't been best pleased when she had been informed that the grandmaster would be attaching the best assassin in the legion to her mission. He had not provided her with reasons for doing so but she knew that refusing the 'honour' of working with the renowned assassin would have been immediately fatal not only to her career most probably her life.

All dark legionnaires, herself included, were subjected to severe psycho conditioning and emotional suppression throughout their lives and as such were all but devoid of feeling. legionnaires could be counted on to willingly undertake tasks that other troops would baulk at or simply refuse and when this detachment from the weakness of emotion was coupled with the harshest imaginable combat training since birth, the result was the very best war fighting troops to be found on Mobius, without exception.

But even amongst the emotionless masses of the dark legion, Morgentha was widely considered to be a deviant. Kalhadra had heard of the assassin within a few days of being elevated to a squad leader in the fifth chapter nearly fifteen years ago. The stories she had heard at the time seemed to be complete fantasy, small deeds clearly blown out of all proportion by idle chatter and spurted from the mouths of those which revelled in spreading rumours. However, when she had met the dark but beautiful girl for the first time shortly afterwards, it was immediately clear that Morgentha was in a totally different league and that far from being expanded, the rumours were actually true, if not diluted.

It was common knowledge that the assassin was the only legionnaire alive to have successfully engaged _the guardian_ in close combat and lived to tell the tale. As far as most of her peers were concerned, that made her a legend.

Only the Grandmaster could deploy her, and when he did, the structure of the legion invariable shifted soon after. Since Morgentha's talent was fully recognised, more than one failed archon had been 'replaced' on the tip of her blades and the fact that she was present on this mission set Kalhadra's nerves on edge, shaking her belief of the trust that the grandmaster had in her.

She started to walk briskly after the advancing troops, catching up with them after a few long strides of her powerful legs. Almost subconsciously she drew her long barrelled sidearm, checked to make sure the magazine was seated correctly and then loosened her long sword in its sheathe. Kalhadra was only faintly aware of Morgentha following in her wake but every time she glanced around the assassin was nowhere to be seen. Whether that was a good sign or a bad one she couldn't decide.

The village loomed up ahead, dozens of the disgusting buildings the groundlings foolishly called homesteads silhouetted against the dark sky. She approached a kneeling Velkor and the older legionnaire nodded in recognition as his leader approached. "Are we ready?"

"Yes archon, the cut off squads have reported that they are now in position and the gunships are ready to start a strafing run on your command" he looked upwards to reinforce the point.

Kalhadra glanced once more at the peaceful village with its dainty little buildings and backwater constructions. There was no metal or technology of any value to be seen. It was repulsive. "Burn it down" she growled in command.

Velkor slammed his fist to his chest plate and switched to a new comms channel. Immediately the squad commanders moved forward, the troops getting into position, surrounding the closest four buildings.

They waited for only the briefest of moments before they commenced the slaughter.

The legion ground troops burst through the flimsy wooden doors with ease using either brute force or breaching charges. Once they were inside, there was no chance for the occupants to escape and the villagers were simply cut down where they stood with controlled bursts of point blank fire or bayonetted in their beds before they could wake to defend themselves.

It didn't take long for the screams of the dying to travel across the village and rouse the rest of the buildings. A few terrified individuals burst out of the doorways of their properties armed with makeshift weapons looking for the source of commotion. They were subsequently scythed down by her troops now advancing up the streets.

Overhead, a deafening roar drowned out the sounds of the rapid gunfire and screams as the flight of vipers dived steeply and let rip with their unguided rockets and multi barrelled gun pods. Explosions blossomed slowly over the roofs of the homes, bathing the legionnaires in bright light for a few moments until the sudden flash disappeared leaving behind the tell tale wisps of flames licking at the night sky. Screams and crying returned as the explosions faded.

It was like a symphony to the archons ears. She was the composer, her troops the orchestra and together they were creating a masterpiece. Kalhadra advanced with her legionnaires and drew her pistol and almost on queue a large badger that was on fire staggered out of the doorway of his house clutching a long handled blacksmiths hammer. He spotted Kalhadra and showing amazing clarity of purpose despite the flames searing away his fur and skin, charged at her with the makeshift weapon, screaming in rage.

She shot him in the chest, ducked the hammer casually, drew her sword in one fluid motion and cut off the badgers head. When she had replaced the sword she kicked the head in the direction of one of her troops. "Pick it up" she commanded him. "I want it as a trophy to remember this day"

The trooper slammed his chest plate, picked up the grisly trophy and then ran to catch up with the rest of his squad.

Kalhadra watched as the first of the squads forcefully dragged a group of screaming and pleading villagers from a large building. They forced them up against a stone wall and gunned all of them down without mercy. It was beautiful.

The archon then ran ahead with long gracious strides to where the front line of her troops were spread out, continuing the slaughter without mercy. To her right, the second squad targeted a group of wailing women and children trying to run for salvation and shot them to ribbons in the muddy street. The bodies hadn't even hit the ground before they carried on to the next set of houses.

Kalhadra walked over to the flaming skeleton of a nearby wooden house and marvelled at the heat it produced. For a few moments, the sounds of slaughter disappeared as she was lost in her own thoughts in the amber glow.

"Archon the mission is almost complete; there is just one more thing left to do before we can leave"

Something in her adjutant's voice warned her of imminent danger. She sighed. "Velkor, I always thought you were too loyal"

The grizzled legionnaire stood immobile a few paces behind her, his heavy plasma rifle aimed directly at the top of her back. Behind him, the smouldering remains of a workshop, possibly the blacksmiths that she had dispatched moments earlier, glowed brightly in the dark sky and for the first time since taking charge of the chapter, she was forced to make a threat assessment of her second in command. He was bigger, stronger and clearly more cybernetic than she was. However he was also slower, clumsier and would rely more on sheer power than finesse to overcome her if his initial shot missed its mark

Kalhadra remained still, buying time to prepare herself. "And here was me thinking that Morgentha would be one to try and kill me, how did I not see it?" she growled. "Why?"

Velkor spat on the floor in front of him and lifted the visor of his helmet so she could see his heavily scarred face and neck. "Why not?" he replied, ruined lips curling at the corners as he spoke. "I should have been promoted when you murdered Kale, not you. Just because you have a pair of tits and don't mind spreading your legs for the grandmaster you managed to snub my nose. I have a record in this chapter which is second to none and by rights it should have always have been me!" he racked the charging handle of the rifle and the sound echoed ominously. "If I am honest I actually quite like you and I will take no pleasure from this. But you know how it works…I know you do…"

She briefly thought back to the eighths previous archon, Kale, and the look of sheer hatred on his face as she watched him tumble end over end to the ground hundreds of meters below. Promotion for her had only been one quick shove away.

"Anyway, enough with the talking" he grunted and flicked the power setting of his rifle to maximum. "It's been a pleasure".

Velkor pulled the trigger.

Kalhadra managed to twist to her left quickly enough so that the high powered shot punched a clean hole though her left shoulder and not through her spine. The pain was an immediate hammer blow to the nervous system and she dropped to one knee clutching her ruined arm. The medical dispenser grafted to her lower back instantly pumped pain blockers into her blood stream but it would be long seconds before they had any kind of effect. In that time she would be dead. Kalhadra looked around frantically for assistance but Velkor had picked his time well, all of her troops were still persecuting their duties.

"Nice dodge bitch, but I wont miss a second time, sit still and lets make it quick" Velkor grinned, waiting for his plasma rifle to indicate it was recharged.

Her only chance was attack. Jumping to her feet she sprinted and used her momentum to barrel into him, forcing Velkor backward. Turning sideways to use her useless limb as shield she drew her blade with her right hand and set about him.

The older legionnaire rallied from the surprise assault and fended off the sword blows with his rifle, playfully swatting them away like deflecting the useless flailing's of a child. He let her continue to attack and lose balance, and when she did stumble, he quickly drew his sidearm and shot her in the left calf, forcing the archon to her knees. Her blade clattered to the ground as she fought to control the anger, rage and pain in which her mind was now swimming.

Velkor picked up his former leaders sword and held it out in front of him, appraising it. The red and yellow light of the nearby flames reflected from its unmarred surface beautifully. "This is a nice sword. I will keep it for when I become archon, just like you kept it when you murdered Kale"

She spat at him. It was a futile gesture but all that she could manage in her critical state. "Fuck you Velkor, just do it already, I tire of your monologue" she lowered her head and closed her eyes, ready to offer him an easy target.

Velkor raised the sword in front of him ready to bring the point down right through the back of her neck. It began to fall.

He grunted mid thrust and Kalhadra looked up believing that he was mocking her. It took a moment for her pain clouded eyes to clear enough and see the faint glint of metal protruding from the joint in the soldiers neck armour. Velkor gurgled, thick, red, oxygen rich blood bubbling over his gruesome lips and dribbling down his vembrace. He dropped the sword and clutched at his neck hopelessly. Dropping to his knees he threw off his helmet and after what seemed an age tipped forward into the muddy ground, a pool of his lifeblood seeping out under him and mixing with the dark soil and dirty water. He spasmed twice and then finally lay still, looking directly at her Kalhadra with date hate filled eyes.

"Get up" Morgentha purred as she knelt down next to the fallen legionnaire and casually removed her throwing knife from his neck. She licked the weapon clean, appearing to savour the bitter taste of Velkor's blood. "Pity" she sighed. "There was good DNA in that one; it's a crying shame to lose men of such quality"

Kalhadra looked on as the assassin replaced her knife and stood back up. The pain blockers were beginning to take effect but the agony in her shoulder and calf was still excruciating. "I thought it was you that was here to kill me, not him" she stated flatly.

"For once that isn't the case" Morgentha replied. "The grandmaster apparently values you as a bed mate, though I have no idea why he would need an unskilled hoar like you over my deliciously pleasurable skills" she kicked the dead legionnaire's sidearm away and sat down on his chest. "So for once he sent me to save an archon and not remove one" she added. "I thought I said get up? You are not fatally injured archon and I despise weakness. Get up or I might change my mind about letting you live and have you be the victim of a terrible little accident."

Kalhadra picked up her fallen blade in her still good right hand and used it to assist her as she rose to her feet once again.

"Do you want this or can I keep it?" the assassin asked over her shoulder, whilst straddling the corpse of Kalhdara's former adjutant.

"Be my guest" she replied. "I don't want to see his face again" and as she stumbled away from Morgentha she kicked Velkor's fallen helmet. It bounced a few times on the uneven ground and then disappeared in the smouldering ruins of the now gutted workshop. Behind her she could hear Morgentha cutting away at Velkor's skin with her flaying knife. It was common knowledge that the she occasionally took a victim's face, dried it out and kept it as a souvenir.

Even though she would have liked to have seen the grim face of Velkor cut from his lifeless head Kalhadra still had a mission to complete. In the burning remains of the village all around her she could make out the silent silhouettes of her troops finishing off the last of the villagers so she beckoned over to the nearest squad leader and had her call down the gunships to evacuate the legionnaires. The vipers landed just under a minute later in the village square.

As she limped towards the evacuation point accompanied by her troops, Kalhadra passed the assassin who was still concentrating on her task, ignoring the events going on around her.

She was humming a lullaby…


	3. Chapter 2 Money dosent grow on trees

**Money doesn't grow on trees**

Sally Esmeralda Acorn, queen of the kingdom of Acorn, sighed softly as she reclined in her throne. Before her, her privy council sat silently, the four present members staring directly at her, waiting patiently for an answer from their queen.

She couldn't give them one. It was doubtful that anyone could.

"My queen?" Ser Reginald De'arthy broke the silence after more than a minute. "Do you have any suggestions?"

Sally looked blankly at his honest and heavily bearded face. Reginald was the minister of the treasury and had served her father faithfully for many years and when she had taken the throne it was the most logical choice to let him continue in his role. He might be aging but anyone who held a conversation with him soon found that his mind was still razor sharp. She had never known another person that could manipulate money as well as him and it was rumoured that when he added two and two he somehow made three and often found a fourth 'just in case'. "Ser Reginald, I have no immediate suggestions to rectify the problem. Can I suggest that you discuss this matter with your peers and draw up a plan to generate the required funds which general Lucas requires?

The minister looked for a moment like he was about to reply to his queen in horror but chose to wisely bite his tongue. Instead he simply gazed sadly at the large and imposing figure of general Lucas who sat opposite him. "Are you positive that your requirements are accurate general? Is there no way they can be shaved or reduced even by a fraction?"

General Lucas scowled across the oak table at his counterpart, his ire obvious. "Not unless you want to issue out sticks and stones to our troops instead of weapons and ammunition or even ask them to provide their own basic equipment"

"Still" Ser Reginald went on "fourteen million mobium is a very large sum of money to simply produce out of thin air with no prior warning"

Lucas burst to his feet, sending his heavy wooden chair spinning backward to crash on the marble floor noisily. "I feel that I need to remind you all, you're lordships, that we are fighting a war on two fronts. Yes, I could probably reduce the figures for manpower if we emptied the government of pen pushers and cowards and used them as labour to free up real soldiers for front line combat. Other than that drastic action, the figures are accurate and unless I get the funds with haste there is more than a fleeting chance that at this time next year we will be holding these meetings from the confines of a wolvine death camp!"

"I doubt not you need manpower and equipment general but you fail to understand that the treasury is finite. I can't simply keep dipping into a purse which is becoming dangerously low and one day in the not too distant future I am going to put in my hand and come out with nothing but dust. You might be fighting a war on the two fronts general but I am trying to wage a war amongst our ledgers and I'd like you to very much consider how well your troops will fight when we run out of money to purchase food and medical supplies"

"Am I getting the funds or not?" Lucas growled, bearing his teeth. "I tire of your lectures..."

"General, sit down"

General Lucas scowled again at his counterpart and then slowly looked up at his queen. When he realised that she was not going to ask twice he reluctantly sat back in his chair, which had been replaced by an orderly, with a loud grunt of frustration.

"What about raising taxes?" Ser Harold suggested.

"A fine idea ser assuming the populace had any more to give to the treasury, four years of constant war has drained the purses of every citizen in the realm. Even if we did somehow manage to accumulate funds from a tax rise, and of that I'm very doubtful, it would take months if not a full year to see any benefit" Ser Reginald replied calmly. "No, I very much council that taxes are not the way forward"

"There must be another option to gather the funds that we require?" Ser Geoffrey sighed, leaning back in his chair. "Loans?"

"Again ser, I fear not the way forward. Who lends to a country which is on the verge of bankruptcy and is fighting a protracted conflict? Even if we did somehow find a lender, I very much doubt we could afford the astronomical interest price they would charge us for the privilege"

"This is ridiculous!" Lucas shouted his notorious rage building to boiling point. In frustration he slammed the table with a large fist, spilling the jug of wine which soaked Ser Harold.

"You bloody oaf that was good wine!" Harold screamed as he patted himself down with a cloth to try and prevent permanent staining. "What don't you understand general? Can you simply not see that we have nothing to give you, the war is draining the treasury faster than anyone could have anticipated!" he picked up a goblet which had come to rest near him and threw it at Lucas.

"You pompous cretin!" he roared and reached for his sword hilt.

"If you draw that sword general I can promise you a quick trip to the dungeons and then another brisk stroll to the gallows at daybreak" the queen shouted.

As if a red veil has suddenly been lifted from his enraged mind, Lucas's sense of personal preservation kicked in and he released his grip on his sword hilt. "I am sorry your highness, I only want what is best for my troops, we are suffering"

"I appreciate your situation general but you of all people should understand that infighting amongst the command structure achieves nothing. Somehow, and I don't know how just yet, we will find your money for the war. We need time however and you simply must be patient. As Ser Reginald quite rightly said, it is a large sum of money to magic out of thin air" Sally let the words sink in for a few moments before continuing. "Ser Reginald, I command you to meet with your peers and discuss options for how we can produce this sum of money, I am open to all and every suggestion. I want you to present them to me tomorrow morning over breakfast"

"As you wish your highness" he replied politely.

"General" she snapped and looked at the still obviously displeased soldier who was clearly bristling. "Meet with your war council and draw up any plans you can concoct which will either reduce your budgetary requirements or decrease the levels of troops which are required for front line duty. As with Ser Reginald's orders to locate the funds, I am open to all suggestions, however crazy you think they might be"

"We have already..."

"General, you somehow construed my command to be negotiable, it wasn't..."

Ser Harold sniggered under his breath, causing the queens focus to snap to him like an eagle locating new prey. "And since you find this so amusing ser, I suggest that you present me with plans on reducing the overall costs for the realms agriculture and power supply. You have forty eight hours."

"Your highness I have tried..."

The queen fixed the fox with her most freezing glare. Nothing else was required.

"Ser Geoffrey, stay with me for a while I wish to talk to you privately"

The skunk nodded silently and rose from his chair.

"Is that all, your highness?" Ser Reginald asked after a few moments.

"Yes gentleman, the meeting is dismissed. See to your tasks with all possible haste"

The three privy council members stepped back from the table and bowed, in Reginald's case, painfully. Sally was actually quite amused when she saw that they consciously took separate directions to avoid each other. Harold slinking away, walking as fast as his legs could carry him whilst Lucas stomped angrily in the direction of the throne room's main doors. She allowed a small smirk to reach her lips and shook her head slowly at the childishness of it all.

Only when she was confident that the three were out of ear shot did she beckon her head of security to come closer. Ser Geoffrey complied, ascending the few steps to stand at the right of the throne. "Your highness?" he asked quietly.

"How stands the political situation?"

"Complicated your grace, it seems that we are allies in name alone with our two neighbours. The tiger clans refuse to listen to anything we say, dismiss our envoys and, as of yet, have contributed nothing towards our war effort. They are for all extent and purposes, savages with little to no official command structure making them as trustworthy as our beloved Ser Harold"

Sally chuckled at his barely concealed insult. "And what about the Ankara's?"

"They have closed our southern borders and as such we are unable to trade with or contact them. They have declared nothing of their intentions for many months but they have always been a reclusive and secretive race. Even so, I would not worry unduly about their current political stance. It has happened before, twice in fact since I was born if my memory serves me correctly"

Sally sighed, leant back in her throne and closed her eyes. "And what about our friends up high? Have you any news from the Angel Island?"

Ser Geoffrey scowled, displaying clearly his disdain for the Echidna race. "Only sporadic communication your grace. They appear to want to remain aloof of the 'groundlings' as they commonly refer to us. I doubt very much if they would assist us in any way unless it benefits them directly"

"So, we are truly alone..."

Ser Geoffrey looked down at his feet for a moment and then took his queens hand up in his own gauntleted palm. "Sometimes it is the best way your grace. I find that solitude simplifies life. Alone, your plans become completely selfish and with no one else to consider, life becomes easier."

"We need allies Geoffrey; we can't stand alone against our enemies for much longer"

The skunk placed her hand back down on the thrones arm rest softly. "I will send out envoys once more your highness in the hope of gaining contact with the tiger clans and the Ankara's"

"Thank you old friend" Sally whispered. "Try to contact the Angel Island again also; there must be someone out there who still cares"

Geoffrey nodded and took a step back from the throne. "Your wish is my command your highness, however I feel that I must warn you that any assistance might cost us dearly"

"If it is the right kind of help Ser Geoffrey then we must pay the cost willingly"

He appeared to consider this reply and then bowed smartly. "I will see to your requests personally your grace"

"Thank you Geoffrey" Sally replied. "Please don't let me detain you"

He turned about and slowly walked away, booted footsteps ringing loudly from the marble floor.

The throne room, easily capable of accommodating hundreds of people was now completely empty save for the queen sitting upon her uncomfortable throne and her guards. The day outside was getting long and the setting sun caused the stained glass windows to cast intricate patterns on the solid stone floor. The atmosphere was oppressive, completely unlike what she remembered as a child as she watched with awe at the royal court her father held. It had always seemed full of life, colour and was never dull.

"Sally?" a familiar female voice asked softly from the thick red curtains behind the throne.

"Come out Bunny, the gods know I could do with a friend right now"

A female rabbit padded softly from her hiding place, long ears drooping down in front of her fair face. Unlike most women of the court, she refused to conform to fashion circles and simply wore a practical loose shirt, trousers and soft boots. "You look exhausted hunny...are you okay?"

How could Sally explain to her oldest friend and confidant what she felt? There were no words invented that she could call upon to adequately detail the level of pressure she bore on her slender shoulders. "Men..." was all she managed to say as she stood up from her throne, paced down to the recently occupied privy councils table and poured herself a goblet of wine from what was left of the spilt jug. "Why can't they simply think for themselves?"

"Genetics" Bunny replied casually pouring herself a drink as well. "They are incapable of it. Men are good for some things but all of them I can count on one hand. And come to think of it all of them can all still be completed by a woman with the right tools..." she winked at her queen wickedly.

It took a few seconds for Sally to catch on to her racy comment and when she did she laughed in shock. "You are disgusting!"

"It's true though! Who needs men for anything, they just make a mess!"

"I'm sure that there is a man out there somewhere who breaks the mould"

Bunny punched her queen on the arm playfully. "If you find him then give him my address, there are plenty of things I could do to a man of that calibre which are illegal in most countries!"

Sally spat out a gob full of wine in shock and tried to cover her mouth to retain some kind of dignity. "What are you like? You're unbelievable!" she spluttered.

Bunny giggled and took a long draft of the wine from the goblet. "You know what? Even though he's a spineless and gutless snake, Harold was right about something"

"Oh?" Sally asked, genuinely puzzled. "Enlighten me."

"Lucas is an oaf; this wine is pretty damn good. I'm going to have to drink what's left to stop it spoiling"

Sally chuckled at her friend and took another drink of the wine. "There's plenty of it drink your fill"

"And what are you plans for tonight then?" Bunny asked over the top of her goblet.

"Same as always I suppose. Spend a couple of hours reading and signing all the documents which I'm sure have miraculously appeared in my parlour since yesterday and then retire to my chambers, update my diary and fall asleep in my reading chair. Eventually I will wake and then crawl into bed to see what tomorrow brings"

"Alone?"

"What do you mean?"

"To bed alone?"

Sally sighed. "Yes, alone"

"Surely someone has caught your eye Sally; I know that you've had no shortage of offers. Have you not found someone to keep you warm at night?"

The queen pulled out Ser Reginald's chair from under the privy council's desk and sat down. "Your right of course. Ive had so many requests over the last year alone that I've lost count. It's just none of them are right. Believe me Bunny, its not like I haven't tried but nothing seems to be there anymore. It's almost like there is nothing left to ignite"

"I felt like that a while back" the rabbit replied, sitting un-lady like on the table. She tried to refill her empty goblet and shook the jug in frustration when it ran empty after only half filling. "I realised I was looking for the wrong kind of man"

"Oh really? I never thought that you cared what type of man they were? The saying 'goes like a rabbit' seemed to describe you perfectly in your younger years if I remember. Most of the time you were on your back"

"Harsh!" Bunny laughed nearly choking on her wine.

"But true" the queen replied.

Her friend laughed heartily, a deep and deliciously naughty sound. "Indeed your highness…indeed"

That night, alone in her royal chamber, Sally sat in her favourite reading chair staring at the large roaring fire surrounded by stacks of documents to read and apply her royal seal of authority to. "I don't remember there being so much paperwork when you were alive father" she whispered to the flames. "It seems that everything I do to try and clear the backlog gets me nowhere"

_"Your highness, it's time for you to update your diary"_

Sally jumped as Nicole, her personal tablet computer, reminded her of her daily task. Getting out of her seat the queen fetched Nicole from her bedside table. She opened the tablet slowly, trying to think of what she could say that would be mildly interesting.

_ "I am ready to receive Sally"_

Sally returned to her seat and curled up again. "Today was much the same as any other day…" she began and immediately hated it. "Nicole, erase, start again"

The tablet bleeped at her twice to indicate that she had done as requested.

"Today I found that men, apparently regardless of age or status, act like children…"

_"Accurate observation"_ Nicole added, her digital tone somehow smug.

"…it appears that the coffers are now becoming dangerously empty" Sally continued, ignoring Nicole's comment. "Ser Reginald has issued the most direct reports yet to this end. We are unable to produce the required monetary sum that General Lucas has requested for the war and our supposed allies are doing nothing of value to help us. My gut assumption is that they are waiting for us to become sufficiently weakened before also declaring and I have no idea why all of our neighbours seemingly want to destroy my realm. Also, in the opinion of Bunny, I need a strong man in my life to help me enjoy it and make me feel like a woman again. I know for a fact that we both have a great difference of opinion of what 'feel like a woman' means.

_ "Anything else?" _Nicole asked.

"Yes" Sally replied. "In big bold writing at the bottom of that diary update I want you to write the words '_I need to do something about Lucas'_"

Nicole did as she was requested. Sally closed the tablet.

For the next hour she watched the flames flicker, smoulder and eventually die in the fire pan, musing on her conversation with her close friend about men and specifically her lack of them. Only when the room became uncomfortably cold did she force herself to rise from her chair and make her way to bed.

Unclipping her hair to let if fall freely around her shoulders, she pulled back the heavy duvet and gingerly slipped inside. The coldness immediately took her breath away and in an effort to overcome the shock of freezing sheets she pulled up her legs and adopted the foetal position. It helped only marginally.

"Geoffrey wasn't right about solitude" she said aloud to the darkness, her throat burning. "It might make life simpler but also makes it unbearably empty…"

And, just like every other night since she could remember, the queen fell slowly asleep to the sound of her own lonely tears.


	4. Chapter 3 Chasing Shadows

**Chasing Shadows**

The only light in the large room came from the hundreds of visual display panels which made up the primary command module. Bright and painful to look upon in the darkness, the display panels constantly shifted images, some showing video footage in real time, some replaying pre-recorded archives and the remainder sitting blank, awaiting input. The low thumping noise of generator banks nearby provided the already sinister atmosphere with its own monotonous and repetitive backing music. Sat alone in the command chair, surrounded by the monitors, a hooded lone figure stared intently at a particular bank of display screens.

"All teams have the green light. Commence the operation"

A series of green blinking lights on the control panel by his right hand indicated that the four teams had understood the command and were beginning their move on to their objectives. On the bank of screens he could see the various team leaders own personal views in real time due to the advanced first person video recorders they wore. The view on all of the screens was difficult to make out, most of it just a confusing mix of black and dark greys due to the night sky.

"All teams, switch to night vision on your recorders"

Four lights green told him that they understood and then the four screens flicked into the green spectrum, revealing previously hidden detail moments later. "Very good commanders, continue"

On the four screens, the hooded figure could now clearly see the other members of each team advancing to their targets. Team two was the first to reach an obstacle in the shape of a thick and reinforced steel door barring their way into the objective building.

The figure pre-empted the team commander's report. "Team two, continue on to your objective, breach the door and search the compound"

Team two's green light flicked up on his control panel he watched in complete silence as the team's commander designated two of his members to place charges on the door. One other member readied a brace of stun grenades to use as soon as the door had noisily opened. The two placing demolition charges finished and looked back at their commander who lifted a thumb to confirm his readiness. They then retreated to a safe distance and after a few seconds, the screen flashed almost white as the charges detonated. By the time the screen had regained its clarity; the team had already entered the building and were fanning out in all directions.

Seconds later, team four and three both reached their objectives, a supposedly abandoned command post and airfield respectively. Again, the figure pre-empted the ground commanders. "Continue onward teams three and four, search and clear"

They acknowledged the orders and proceeded as requested.

"Gamma helicon, this is sword one do you receive? Over…"

The figure flicked a switch to open his personal command channel to team ones leader. "Gamma helicon confirms, what is it commander?"

"We have tracks ser; they are deep and wide and appear to be from a heavy vehicle, they are massive"

"Show me" the figure replied.

Team ones monitor shifted for a moment as the commander detached his camera and located it in the best position to view the tracks. He had to zoom out in order to fit the majority of one of the tracks on screen. Eventually a crystal clear image of them appeared on the screen.

"Detori, identify the vehicle if you please" the figure commanded the computer.

"_Very well"_ the artificial voice piped up out of the gloom. The picture of the tracks transferred smoothly from the small monitor and then appeared as a version greatly increased in size on the gigantic central display. In the top right hand corner of the screen, pictures of tracked vehicles rapidly flickered as Detori scanned through his archives in an attempt to match the tracks to a recognised legion vehicle. As always it didn't take him long. _"Ninety nine point eight percent match to the tracks of a bulk ground transporter designated as LGT 476 or 'Mighty Mary' as it is commonly named. The LGT 476 is capable of transporting up to two hundred fully armed legionnaire infantry or four main battle tanks at a time. In addition, by the degeneration showed in the tracks, I can estimate that they are over two weeks old"_

"Thank you Detori" the figure replied.

"_You're welcome"_

The figure seemed to ponder the implications of the find and then finally continued. "Sword one, continue on to your objective and do not be surprised if you come across any more of the tracks. I fully expect you to. Keep a tally of any you find on route"

The display shook for a moment as the team's commander replaced his camera. A green light appeared on the figures control panel to confirm his acknowledgement.

"Gamma helicon, this is sword two, do you receive? Over…"

A quick flick of a switch opened up a channel to the second team.

"Go ahead Sword Two…"

"Sir, we have checked the objective from top to bottom. Its empty sir…almost like it was never even occupied; the only things left behind are dust and silence"

"Understood sword two, standby for further orders"

"Gamma helicon, sword three can confirm same status as sword two"

"Gamma helicon, sword four confirms the same status also, no signs of any activity or aircraft"

The figure slammed his left fist down hard on the armrest of his chair in frustration and trying to keep the obvious displeasure of the findings to himself he gathered his thoughts before replying.

"All sword teams stand down and move to primary rendezvous points. I will send in the gunships now to pick you up"

"Gamma helicon, this is sword one, we have still not reached the objective, over"

"How many tracks have you found sword one?" the figure replied, annoyed at his order being questioned.

"Five sets so far sir"

"Then stand down and follow my orders, it's pointless to continue as when you finally did reach your objective you would find that, it to, is completely empty"

"Yes sir, moving to extraction"

Four green lights flicked on once more as the teams confirmed their understanding of his extraction order. The four monitors showing the camera images of the teams and fade to black as he deactivated them.

"Detori, send authorisation to the gunship pilots to pick up the teams and then confirm these latest four potential targets as dead, update the tactical map and send it to my personal slate"

_"Very well"_ the computer confirmed.

"Also, on further thoughts, send a copy to all of the brotherhoods data slates and schedule a tactical meeting for tomorrow at fifteen hundred hours" The figure removed his headset and replaced it on its stand nearby. He then flicked a large red switch causing the seat he reclined in to descend whilst spinning slowly with a whir of well-oiled gears. It eventually came to a stop at ground level, facing the complete opposite direction to which he had been sitting.

_"Anything else you require guardian?"_

Sabre stood up and felt something creak in his spine, causing him to grunt in pain. "Yes Detori, get me a mug of steaming coffee with a generous measure of bourbon and monitor the returning gunships encase of any accidents"

_ "Understood guardian, already monitoring"_

Sabre smirked as he walked towards the exit. "As always Detori, well done"

_"Thank you guardian" _the computer acknowledged as the door to the command chamber closed slowly with a hiss, plunging the room into darkness once more.

"We have burnt the midnight candle trying to put together a viable plan to generate the funds the general requires your grace" Ser Reginald proclaimed over a small breakfast in the queens parlour the next morning.

"And?" Sally urged, taking a long sip of tea.

"We can only immediately generate eight of the sixteen million, nine maybe at a push"

Sally shook her head in disappointment. "Is there nothing else?"

"Short of stealing the funds from another country there I nothing else we can do. I am sorry my queen but sixteen million mobiums is a figure which is simply unattainable at this time and at such short notice"

Sally's heart jumped a beat at the thought of having to tell Lucas that he wouldn't be getting his money after all. She quickly made a mental note to double the guard just in case.

Ser Reginald popped a few of the succulent grapes on offer into his mouth and chewed noisily, he was old and drooled when he ate. "Forgive me to intrude on another of my peers areas of expertise your highness…" he went on.

"Please continue I am all ears"

"If we can only generate half of what the general needs then surely an ideal solution is to stop fighting on two fronts"

"Are you suggesting trying to forge a peace treaty with the wolves or the Dakar?"

"Not at all your highness, they are the lowest form of life on Mobius and I would rather die on my own sword than shake hands with either"

"Then what do you suggest ser?" Sally was becoming increasingly interested in her minister's of the treasury's line of thought. "I can almost guarantee that the Dakar's nation of nomads wouldn't consider a peace treaty, especially since the new Khan took the throne. He's even more bloodthirsty that his father was and only sees the realm of Acorn as a source to plunder, not as a nation worth allying with"

"Have you ever heard of the saying, my enemies enemy is my friend?"

"Yes, but I still don't see what relevance this has, we know already that the Dakar and the wolves are allies"

"Indeed your highness" he chewed a few more grapes and then some spiced meat. "But I have it on good authority, and from someone I trust explicitly that there is the possibility of gaining much needed support for our cause, shall I say, further afield"

"Tell me more" Sally enquired. "What do you mean?"

Ser Reginald shook his head. "I am sorry my queen but the information I have is best left unsaid until it can be ratified as completely accurate, I don't want to raise your hopes then cruelly dash them"

"And if I commanded you to tell me?"

"Then I would tell you everything I know but I would be vastly disappointed in you"

Sally took a sip of some more tea. "Fine. But be aware of the dangerous game we play here Ser Reginald. It's becoming increasingly more difficult to know who is on which side of the line if you understand my meaning"

"I understand completely your grace"

"Then I suggest that you are on your way" Sally replied and nodded to the exit door of her parlour "I have another audience after breakfast with the mayors of the realm who will no doubt have a list of demands of their own as long as my arm"

Ser Reginald stood up slowly, his bones clicking as he did so, bowed smartly and left the queen to her breakfast without saying another word.

Very rarely since the war began did the palace of Acorns throne room thrum with life such as it did now. From all over the realm the various mayors and leaders of the hamlets, villages and cities had descended upon the palace to seek promises from the queen and her advisers. Amongst the packed seats, the vast gap between the wealthy and the poor was laid painfully bare for all to see. Head men from the hamlets and villages, dressed in dirty and soiled work wear or in their best clothes which were still no better than scruffy trousers and jackets, brushed shoulders with the expensively attired upper crust of the realm whose disdain for being in such close proximity to the lower classes was only barely concealed.

Lining the throne room, the palatial guard had sealed all exits and entrances save the massive wooden main doors which still stood open in order to let fresh air enter and circulate the room. Forty of the palatial guard stood vigil over the few hundred villagers and nobles who sat amongst the wooden piers, talking quietly to each other whilst they awaited the entrance of their head of state.

Ser Geoffrey appeared from a side door and regarded the assembly with a suspicious eye. All of those present had been thoroughly searched and vetted before they stepped through the palaces main entrance but he would have been a very poor head of the queen's security if he didn't suspect everyone in the room of wanting to harm Sally in some way shape or form. The realms past was dogged with records of successful assassination attempts on monarchs and he did not wish to be remembered in history as a failure.

"Ladies and gentleman, rise for the queens chosen councillors"

The talking stopped abruptly as everyone in the room rose to their feet. Hundreds of pairs of eyes watched as Ser Reginald, Harold, General Lucas and Ser Antony, the queen's chancellor, entered the room and took up their seated positions at the privy table in front of the throne.

Ser Geoffrey nodded again and a trio of trumpeters began their ornamental rendition of the royal hymn. It took a full minute before they abruptly fell silent.

"All bow for your highness the queen, Sally Esmeralda Acornia of the regal house of acorn" Geoffrey bellowed.

All in the room, even those whose legs could barely support them through age, bowed as best as they could in respect.

Sally appeared in the royal doorway and slowly padded across the marble floor with little sound. The guards closed the door behind her and secured it with a large iron bar. As Sally swept past Geoffrey she winked at him and finally sat down on the throne, adjusted her crown and then waited.

"Rise and be seated" Geoffrey bellowed once more when he was satisfied his queen was ready.

The assembly hustled and bustled themselves back onto the seats as quickly and as elegantly as they could. When they had finished and finally looked up at the queen, a wave of awe and silence overtook them all.

Sally smiled as she saw the completely dumbstruck look on most of the faces in the room. It was an effect she had been hoping desperately to achieve and judging from the longing eyes on most men and the jealous daggers of their wives and ladies, it seemed to have worked. Since speaking to Ser Reginald over breakfast, she had taken a great deal of effort and time in preparation of the royal audience in order to take advantage of her own personal weapon, her beauty and feminine charm. She had picked her most regal dress, a buttercup yellow and simply embellished number which clung tightly to her figure. On her hands she wore delicate white gloves and on her feet, a simply but luscious set of yellow slip on shoes. Only a touch of makeup was required to emphasise her lips and eyes finishing off the look to perfection.

"Well met my Lords and ladies of the realm. I have organised refreshments for you all" Sally nodded to the servants who had assembled at the main entrance awaiting her order. Under the supervision of the head waiter they then began to offer out refreshing drinks and succulent food to the quests on silver platters. Sally whispered to Ser Geoffrey "I believe that I am ready, let's get this over with"

"As you wish your grace" he replied and turned once more to the assembled guests. "Her grace, the queen, will listen to your concerns and if possible provide her judgement immediately. I ask..." he looked down at the list he held in his gauntleted hand. "Lord Quinn of Harringway" to step forward and address her grace.

Sally looked on unimpressed as a middle aged rabbit dressed in a well-fitting deep red tunic with gold trimming, jet black trousers and freshly shined riding boots stood up and, after successfully navigating those in his path, made his way to within a dozen steps of her throne. He bowed and then cleared his throat with a forced cough which she was sure he did simply to make himself look more important than for actual necessity.

"Your highness, I am here to make a personal plea to your grace and your sympathy on behalf of my township and its surrounding villages. I am sure your highness already knows that Harringway is unfortunately located in the north east and as such is very much in the danger zone, being only a kilometre short of the recognised front line. Though Harringway has not yet come under direct attack from the enemy, a number of outlying villages have been razed to the ground and the inhabitants scattered, captured or brutally killed. The countryside is littered with the corpses of the unburied dead of which by far the worst are the children..." he stopped, clearly gathering his words and nerves. "I have attempted to contact general Lucas on multiple occasions and via all possible means, even travelling to the front line command posts to attempt to gain an audience with the general and inform him of our plight"

Sally slowly regarded the rabbit and his words before settling her gaze on general Lucas who ignored her. She leant forward slowly. "Please continue Lord Quinn, you have my undivided attention"

Lord Quinn coughed once more and continued. "We need troops your highness, real troops..." with that he looked over at the general once more, clearly intimidated and fearful of what he was going to say next.

"Real troops you say?" Sally asked, puzzled.

"Indeed your grace, the troops who have been tasked to defend Harringway and the surrounding villages are little more than thugs and ruffians. They spend most of their time drunk and take what they want, including our women and daughters. They have no discipline and are as much a danger to the common folk as the enemy they are supposedly protecting us from. Their leader is a vicious and unreasonable fellow whom I have personally witnessed beating a young stable boy near to death for a purely fictional slight on his 'honour'. Any attempts to talk to the officer achieve nothing but being nearly killed by his lackeys"

"A serious allegation indeed Lord Quinn" Ser Anthony replied when the rabbit had finished talking. "Do you have any evidence or witnesses to back up your words?"

"I was not under the impression, Ser Anthony that Lords words were in need of verification. At what point did honour between peers count for so little?" Lord Quinn spat back through clenched teeth.

"I do not doubt your honour ser; however, your allegations are extremely serious and concern our already overstretched armed forces. I ask again, do you have any witnesses or evidence to validate your claims?"

Sally studied the rabbit's reaction carefully. He was clearly stunned but recovered like a true diplomat that has been blindsided. "As a matter of fact Ser Anthony, I do have witnesses who are willing to testify against the men in question"

"Are they here?"

"One is"

"Well let him or her speak to her grace and validate your words"

The rabbit looked suddenly defeated, like a great weight he did not wish to carry was dropped on his already overburdened shoulders. "I would request to your highness that this is not necessary, not here, not now"

"Why not lordling?" Lucas had stood up and leant forward over the table, resting on his knuckles which were turning white from being clenched so tightly. "You make accusations of my men and bring them directly before the queen in order to blemish the honour of our military that and dying to protect this realm. And when asked to provide a witness which you say you have, you refuse?"

"Yes general"

"You are a fool man, I dismiss your allegations as false" he growled back. "You clearly have no evidence of value and are simply lying"

Lord Quinn's face turned beetroot red and he stood ramrod straight. "If you so wish to see my witness, which I can assure you general is but one of many, then you shall do so" he turned to one of his retainers somewhere in the assembled audience and nodded. On his command a teenage girl who could have been no more than fourteen was brought forward by a maid. The girl was crying silently and was clearly terrified by the way she shook like a leaf. As she approached Lord Quinn, the man took the child's hand in his own and gripped it tightly. He then addressed Sally directly.

"Your grace, may I present to you my eldest daughter and heiress to my title the lady Jasmine Quinn, she was raped by the troops I speak of"

More than one person in the audience gasped at the importance and gravity of his words and Sally noticed out of the corner of her eye how Geoffrey gripped the list in his hands so tightly she was sure it would tear. They had raped a Lords daughter? What was she to do and how would she handle this? With compassion? With anger? With violence? All of her life she had been groomed to deal with problems of the realm and make decisions which would be far fetching and long lasting and now, alone on the throne she was acutely aware of all eyes pointing in her direction. How she handled this would be remembered for a long time to come and could very well make or break her rule.

All worries for herself were soon dismissed though when she looked down at the girl, gently sobbing and rubbing her own arms. Immediately her heart melted and it made her next actions natural and completely genuine.

She stood up regally, walked slowly down the steps, looked Jasmine directly in the eyes and embraced her like a mother would embrace her own child.

The girl, not knowing initially how to deal with the shock of having the queen touching her, recoiled at first. Then, when it had become clear that the queen was genuinely concerned for her and not moving away, she folded softly into her warm embrace and the sobs simply ushered out of her unbidden and uncontrolled.

Sally knelt down and continued to hug the child tightly, stroking her hair to try and calm her. She embraced the child in this way for many minutes.

"Your grace?" ser Geoffrey finally interrupted. "Let me take the child and I will see to her personal care"

Sally ignored him for a few moments and then slowly broke away from the now calmer Jasmine. The girl immediately grabbed her father's arm and hugged it tightly.

"Your grace?" Geoffrey continued.

Sally looked up at Lord Quinn and then placed a hand lightly on his shoulder. A few tears had escaped and ran down her cheeks. "You have suffered much Lord Quinn, and for that I am truly sorry" she told the Lord and then turned to his daughter who was watching the queen intently through watery eyes. "And for you my dear, dear Jasmine, I promise you justice for the horrors you have endured at such a young age"

The girl simply nodded. It was all that Sally needed by way of a thank you.

"Ser Anthony" she commanded.

The imposing figure of her chancellor rose from his seat at the head of the privy council table. "Your highness?"

"Gather as many men as you require and take the fastest possible route to Harringway" she gritted her teeth and finally turned to her chancellor. "I entrust you with a royal warrant to locate and arrest the disgusting excuses for soldiers who are responsible for these crimes. Bring them back to this palace and lock them up in the dungeons. They will be put on trial here immediately and their heinous acts laid bare before the rest of the realm"

"Very well your grace, I will depart at once" the bear replied. He was just about to turn and leave when the strong hand of general Lucas gripped him by the arm, stopping him forcefully from moving away.

"You are not going anywhere!" the large canine growled. "If what the whelp says is true, and for what it's worth I still believe she is lying, then they are under my jurisdiction as soldiers and will be court marshalled. I will not have my soldiers suffer the ignominy of being dragged back here to take part in some kind of half-baked production purely for the entertainment of the masses"

Ser Anthony looked down at Lucas's hand and then back to the queen.

Sally turned on the belligerent general in a storm of fury, her normally calm persona falling away like a discarded mask. When she spoke her words were quiet but loaded with menace. "General Lucas, for the last four years we have been at war, your ineptitude and inability to defend this realm has cost us all dearly. Some more so than others" she pointed to the still dumbstruck girl. "No child of that age should be subjected to the horrors she has had to endure...look at her"

General Lucas let go of Ser Anthony and folded his large forearms across his chest in defiance.

"_I SAID LOOK AT HER!"_

He couldn't disobey his queen a second time and he noticed that all of the royal guard and even Anthony had placed their hands on their sword hilts. Reluctantly he did as he was commanded.

"Can you see her glazed eyes...well can you?" the queen growled. "Those eyes do not lie, they tell a thousand truths on their own and they are all the evidence I need to believe her words. The real shame of this crime is that it was conducted not by the enemy but by our own people that are supposed to be protecting the populace, not raping them!"

She paced back quickly to her throne and sat down. The whole room was deathly silent in anticipation of her judgement. Sally leant forward and gripped the armrests of the throne tightly.

"Ultimately, the actions of the soldiers are reportable all the way up the chain of command and that comes solely to rest with you general. For the last four years you have provided me with nothing but excuses, demands for more funds and threats of invasion if your criteria are not met. And now, I find that the troops you do command are no more loyal to the realm and its people that they are to their own pockets and desires! It is not acceptable, not acceptable at all." She paused for a moment and then continued. "As such, I decree that your term as the absolute commander of my armed forces is terminated with immediate effect. You will be stripped of your title and holdings which will then be redistributed to '_Lady' _Jasmine Quinnwith immediate effect as a small gesture of compensation. Your presence on my privy council is also no longer required and if I see your face again, I swear on my father's grave that you will be put on trial for treason. You have twenty four hours to leave the realm; I care not for where you go as long as you just simply go"

"You ungrateful bitch!" he screamed. "You know nothing of what I have done for this stinking and backwater realm! Your father promoted me…"

"My father is dead. And now I am undoing a mistake he made when he was alive!" the queen spat back.

It was too much for Lucas to take. He grabbed his sword grip, yanked it free of his scabbard and jumped on the table. Sally didn't flinch as the large and threatening canine approached her, sword up above his head preparing to strike a fatal blow. But, just before the sword could land; Geoffrey parried it with his own and sent the Lucas's blade ringing to the floor below.

Ser Anthony, assisted by four of the royal guard, wrestled the howling Lucas to the floor and dragged him away forcefully. As he was removed the former general's claws gouged long gashes in the stone floor as he fought for purchase.

Geoffrey sheathed his sword and knelt down in front of Sally. "Are you hurt my queen?"

Sally looked directly at him and dismissed his concern with a wave. "Not at all, please let me congratulate you on your excellent timing"

The queen stood up to address all in the throne room. "Well, that was quite the spectacle was it not? I suggest taking a few minutes to wet your throats and breathe some fresh air again my friends. We will resume again in fifteen minutes" She clapped her hands and the guards began to usher everyone out of the hall.

Before her father could stop her, Jasmine broke free of his grasp, vaulted up the steps to her queen and hugged her tightly. It took Sally completely by surprise. "I don't care what that evil creature says!" she shouted. "You are amazing and I want to be just like you when I grow up!"

Sally smiled and hugged the young girl back, savouring the contact. "Thank you sweetie_"_ she replied softly. "And one day, I hope to be as brave as you were today"

The young girl smiled a toothy smile and finally let go of the queen. "Thank you your highness...for everything" she curtsied as best as she could and then ran back to her waiting father who was clearly embarrassed and unsure of what to do next.

"Lord Quinn, you have a gem of a daughter and you should be very proud. It would do me a great honour if you let her stay on at my court when she reaches sixteen years of age as I'm sure there is much we can learn from each other"

The rabbit bowed, dumbstruck. "The honour is all mine your highness, from the bottom of my heart, I thank you

"No need" Sally replied softly. "I will see that the arrangements are duly made, please feel free to catch some fresh air, I'm sure you both need it"

With that thinly veiled command, the rabbit bowed again formally and left the throne room with his daughter in tow.

When there was no one left in the throne room except for the queen and Ser Geoffrey she turned to face him slowly. "Geoffrey, if you would be so kind as to escort me back to my chambers"

"As you wish your grace are you unwell?"

"No, but I don't trust Lucas not to break free and seek revenge"

"Very well, I will post guards outside your chambers. Your highness, can I just say that if your father was alive, I am confident he would have been proud of the way you dealt with that situation"

"Thank you Geoffrey that means a great deal" Sally replied and linked her arm in his.

Haven's briefing room was a small plain room. Like the entirety of the complex it was shrouded in perpetual darkness save for the very centre of the room where a large and extremely complex table stood, artificially illuminated by a clutch of spotlights housed in the stone ceiling above. Surrounding the table, six high backed and ornate chairs sat immobile, each custom made for one of the guardians who made up the sacred brotherhood. Only five of the chairs were occupied and the sixth looked like it had been simply abandoned.

"Do we begin?" Sourjourner asked to his assembled family.

"Yes" Sabre confirmed. "If we continue to wait for him to show" he nodded in the direction of the empty chair which was covered with a thick layer of dust and clearly hadn't been used in quite some time "then we will all die of old age"

Thunderhawk grunted. "I don't think that likely grandson, the combined age of those around the table reaches well into four digits"

Sabre ignored his ancestors retort and pressed the activation switch on the holographic table. It took a few moments for the solid black sheen of the table to warm up and become active. Above them, the lights flickered and then stabilised as a considerable amount of electricity was redirected from the main generators to power the device. At the same time, a hazy blue force field hummed into existence from floor to ceiling, encasing the brotherhoods briefing table and its occupants in a sound proof and impenetrable barrier.

"Detori, display the tactical map of the island on the table, two percent scale ratio"

"_Very well guardian, one moment please"_

It took almost thirty seconds for the three dimensional map to appear, hovering above the table in exquisite levels of detail. If you had never seen if before, it might have fooled you into believing you could reach out and touch it, take a fist full of the earth and run it grain by grain through your fingers.

"Detori, plot the points of all previously confirmed legion locations"

A series of slowly rotating red triangular markers appeared above the map, the point of each indicating a position on the island where dark legion locations had been one hundred percent confirmed by scouts or other means.

"As you can see gentleman, up until last month, we had a good idea of the disposition of the legion forces. I admit that we still haven't been able to locate the very core of their operation and command structure but id like to think that we had a good idea of their movements as and when they happened"

Six blank and shadowy faces peered back at him through the gloom. They were listening carefully to his every word.

"However, over the last month, the dynamics of the conflict have...changed somewhat" Sabre continued confidently, unperturbed by his families silence. "Detori, plot the results of the last four weeks scouting operations on the map. Overlay the previous markers with blue for every location which has been confirmed to be empty"

All of the markers turned blue.

"You mean to tell me, father, that you believe they have simply disappeared?" Locke stated matter of factly. "That an entity the size of the dark legion has just vanished?"

"That's what the data says and cold hard facts are irrefutable"

"I don't believe it" Sourjourner dismissed. "It's not possible. Surely we would have caught wind of this or at least seen something to indicate it in advance and cause us to be suspicious?"

Locke stood up, touched the screen in front of him and then looked at the others. "Detori, display the satellite photographs of point Gamma Zulu Five sixty days ago"

_"Very well guardian, processing your request, please wait"_

The holographic representation disappeared slowly as if simply fading into the darkness. On the flat glossy screen, multiple hi definition photographs were displayed as requested. Locke touched one of the digital images and flicked it across the table in the direction of the centre. "Maximise the image Detori"

The satellite photograph expanded as requested to fill the whole table dotted with numerous coloured boxes which ringed important natural features and unnatural buildings.

"Detori, estimation if you will"

"_Estimation based on the image is as follows. Ground forces consist of sixty five armoured vehicles, twenty four lesser vehicles most likely halftracks or all terrain reconnaissance prowlers. Four hundred legionnaire infantry confirmed on image with a ninety two percent estimation of there also being another five hundred infantry and command staff in the surface buildings and sub-surface logistical areas. Air power consists of twelve all-purpose interceptors and three long range ordnance delivery aircraft. Ranged ordinance consists of six artillery platforms. The compound displays numerous obvious defensive features, not least of which is the natural ring of mountains amongst which it is situated. Also, most alarmingly, is a distinct surface depression in the north west corner of the compound which is compatible with the concealment pattern of a sub-surface long range missile facility'._

Locke folded his arms and played with his beard as the AI listed off the estimation. Only when Detori had finished did continue sternly. "That compound contained what appears to be the vanguard on an entire dark legion chapter. The volume of hardware and manpower that was stored there can't just vanish in one month, we would have known, we would have seen it" he looked towards the sky to indicate the multiple satellites they had situated in the heavens.

"Detori, run the recoded video of Sword Two's camera from yesterday's operation would you please?" Sabre glared at his son across the table for disbelieving him. "It appears there are some of us who doubt the facts"

Locke sat down on his chair and watched with the others as the main screen replayed the video footage as requested. When the recording ended, he remained silent.

Thunderhawk was the first to break the icy silence. "And all of the other sites are abandoned?"

Sabre nodded grimly. "All empty, no sign of their previous inhabitants at all. Some sites provide the barest clues as to how the legion moved its troops but nothing concrete and nothing to suggest how they managed it whilst we were watching them"

"We underestimated them brothers" Spectre stated matter of factly. He had lost his natural voice many years previously and was forced to use a cybernetic implant which gave him the vocal timbre of a well-tuned but deeply unhappy engine. He had dismissed better upgrades to the implant every time they had been offered since simply because he liked the menacing sound of his own artificial voice. "We underestimated them and now they have the upper hand"

"Detori, can you provide any logical suggestions as to the current whereabouts of the dark legion?" Thunderhawk asked politely.

_"I am sorry guardian, I have run multiple scenarios through to all possible conclusions and can provide no logical suggestion as you request"_

"I understand old friend" the venerable guardian replied. Thunderhawk stood up to the sound of a great deal of popping and cracking in his joints. "Well, I don't know about you young-uns but I've always found the best way to see something is with my own eyes, not on a computer screen"

Sabre smirked at his grandfather's statement. "Where are you going old man?"

"I've always fancied a look round one of the legions facilities and if they have been kind enough to leave without so much as a farewell kiss then when could be a better time? Besides, they might have left something behind which I can pick up on. Often some clues are so obvious that they can't be seen by the untrained eye"

"You're not going alone grandfather" Sabre replied.

"And since when did you tell me what I can and can't do young man, I'm more than capable of looking after myself"

Sabre glanced over at Sourjourner and Spectre for support in his cause to put off the impromptu visit. Spectre smirked wryly; his heavily wrinkled face producing dark and sinister shadows under his hood and Sourjourner simply raised his palms whilst shaking his head. "I've known my son long enough to try and stop him" Sourjourner replied.

"Very well" Locke butted in before his father could reply. "But at least pacify my father and take a few squads of troops with you, after all you never know what you might find there that requires bringing back here for further investigation?"

Thunderhawk pondered this for a moment and then grunted his agreement. "Faultless logic Locke"

For the second time in just a few minutes Sabre glared at his son who simply looked blankly back at him as if daring his father to scold him in front of the others. "Fine, fine, where are you thinking of investigating then you stubborn old bastard?"

Thunderhawk took his sweet time to peer over the map of the island and eventually pointed to a marker with his walking stick. His selected destination was by far and away the most remote with its nearest neighbour being hundreds of kilometres to the east. "I'm going to take a look around there" he told the others. "I suggest that you all get off your decrepit arses and consider following my lead. The time for reliance on computer mumbo gumbo and technology is clearly over. There are only two ways we are going to find these treacherous bastards and work out what they are up to"

"Please enlighten us" Sabre snapped.

"The first way is to get out on the ground and take a good sniff around for clues using your eyes and ears, if they still function of course..."

Reluctantly with a chorus of grunts the other members of the brotherhood agreed with their family member.

"And the second oh mighty and wise Thunderhawk?" Sourjourner mocked his son.

Refusing to rise to his father's bait Thunderhawk simply continued matter of factly "The second is if someone provides us with a part of the puzzle we don't currently possess"

Sabre pressed the activation rune once again causing the tables holographic projectors to cease abruptly with a hum of discharging static. The force field also disappeared with an audible pop. "The meeting is over then, I suggest that everyone picks targets and takes a walk"

The brotherhood of guardians stood, bowed respectably to each other and exited the command room via different exits. As the door hissed shut after Locke, who was the last to leave, the lights dimmed and finally ceased, thrusting the briefing room back into complete darkness once again.


	5. Chapter 4 Outfoxed

**Outfoxed**

Private Sprot was by his own admission a pathetic excuse for a soldier and he hated the discipline and endless bullshit the officers pumped your head with. Sprot was of only average fitness, wore glasses as thick as milk bottles and had embarrassingly cried the first time he had fired his personal weapon at a paper target in training. His sergeants in basic had made his life a living hell and the fellow candidates on his intake had all but shunned his existence. Sprot was the daily butt of venomous teases and vicious practical jokes and he was also well known to bring bad luck upon anyone who strayed to close.

Not an hour went by that he sorely regretted getting out of bed on the day the recruitment team had driven into his village offering glory and beautiful women to everyone who signed up. Before he could back out, he was being thrashed half to death in training in boot camp and then finally shipped to the front line where he was forced to fight for his life every hour of the day since stepping out of the transport truck.

Yes, Sprot was a useless soldier, but he had one thing going for him that others didn't. He was lucky, the kind of guy who can roll a six sided dice and come out with a seven when he needed it the most. The kind of guy who somehow managed to survive unmolested after the rest of his section was vaporised in an accidental ordnance shell explosion. The kind of guy who leant down to pick up a child's toy on the floor and narrowly avoided a sniper shot which killed the man behind him.

The kind of guy that, whilst paying only casual attention to his surroundings as he searched a burnt out building, stumbled across a jet black and banged up helmet left to melt in the rubble.

"What's this then?" Sprot asked to himself, knowing full well no-one would be listening or be anywhere near him due to concerns about their own mortality. Remembering only part of his training, he gingerly tapped the helmet with his rifle barrel and much to his relief; nothing explosive immediately filled his life.

Confident his 'thorough' search had succeeded in not identifying any traps; he leant down and picked up the helmet. It took a few moments for him to dust off the thick layer of ash and dirt which caked the piece of armour, revealing the very fait outline of a skull pattern which had melted away. The eye sockets of the skull had originally held some kind of lens but they were damaged and shattered. Sprot had never seen anything like it so he dutifully clipped it to his belt and made a mental note to show the squad commander when he managed to corner him next.

Oh yes, Sprot was lucky, but then some naturally are. The gods might have seen fit to give him a name which was a joke in its own right, the eyesight of a bat with cornea defects and the body of a malnourished stick insect but he had been first in line when the second and third helpings of luck were dished out.

It was this luck that jammed the pin of the trigger mechanism linked to the tripwire he broke as he left the ruins in possession of the helmet.

Unwittingly, Sprot was living proof that everyone has some kind of talent, even if they didn't realise it.

It took nearly seven hours to reach the abandoned dark legion facility that he had chosen on the map and in hindsight he wished that he had not been as bold in his choice. The constant motion of the personnel carrier rattled his bones and joints terribly and he couldn't remember the last time he had been so uncomfortable.

He was, in short, in bloody agony but couldn't show it. The three squads of troops Locke had insisted he brought along could not be allowed to see that age did in fact slow a guardian down. He had a façade to keep up in honour of his ancestors and brethren.

Still, it hurt. It hurt badly.

"Guardian, we are at the location, what are you orders?" the lieutenant in charge of his entourage asked him.

Thunderhawk grunted. "Dismount, create a perimeter and one section comes with me" he replied.

"Very well guardian" the young officer acknowledged. Thunderhawk watched as the young echidna jumped down from the transports carrier bay to the solid ground below and proceeded to bark orders at his men. "Show off…" the guardian muttered to himself.

Thunderhawk got up from his seat and briefly considered the possible implications of trying to follow the lieutenant's acrobatic display. All outcomes pointed to him making an arse of himself, so instead, he used the steps.

He didn't want to wait for the troops to catch him up so he set off towards the now obvious entrance. Already his senses were tingling as he approached the door to the underground facility. The recent presence of the dark legion was sending flares of warning across the back of his mind but he silenced them with practised ease. The base was clearly deserted and they were becoming annoying.

Thunderhawk took one look into the darkness beyond the doorway and grimaced. He already had a gut feeling that whatever had been housed by its metallic walls was bad news. Still, there was only one way to find out and, with only a barely perceptible pause, he stepped forward into the darkness and the intrigue that lay beyond.

The rest of the audience had been quite easy. Most of the other Lords and head men had simply wanted reassurance that they had not been forgotten. As an unexpected bonus, dismissing Lucas had seemed to go a long way to smoothing out many ruffled feathers as it transpired he had been universally distrusted, feared and hated across the realm. Ser Anthony had informed her that it had taken another five guards to drag him down to the dungeons and that they had to knock him unconscious to throw his immobile form into the dark cell. The queen noticed he was smiling as he told her the gritty details.

Sally reclined in the steaming hot water and tried to relax. After the audience had ended many of the attendees had broken official etiquette to congratulate her on her handling of the clearly insane general. She was also shocked to learn that she had acquired a purely unofficial nickname of 'Steel Sally' due to her fearless pose as the general's blade cut down towards her. She had accepted the accolade and praise willingly because she secretly liked the nickname and it was, after all, a damn site better than the other she had been cruelly labelled with as a child.

A loud knock on her bath chamber door startled her enough to make her jump and spill a great deal of soapy water onto the floor. "Yes?" she shouted so that she could be heard.

"You highness, Ser Geoffrey requests your presence in your parlour, he said it was of the highest importance"

Sally cursed under her breath. "What time is it?"

The messenger paused whilst he checked his watch. "Just shy of ten o'clock your highness"

'_Ten o clock?_ She thought to herself. _Whatever he has to say best be of importance at this time of the day._ Slowly and with the utmost care she got out of the bathtub, towelled herself as dry as possible and then wrapped a large dressing gown around her naked form. Looking at her reflection in a mirror quickly, it was painfully apparent that there was not much that could be done about her hair which stuck to her head limply. '_Oh well, its only Geoffrey and he has seen me in far worse states as a child' _she thought.

When she opened the doors to her parlour, it became immediately clear that Geoffrey wasn't alone. Ser Reginald and Anthony were also in attendance, all clustered around an object sat upon an oak coffee table in the centre of the room. As she entered, all three turned and bowed.

"Your highness" Ser Reginald said. "You look..."

Sally grabbed a hand full of her lifeless hair and stretched it out so they could all see. "Drowned Ser, I am confident the word you are looking for is drowned"

"I was going to say radiant, your grace"

Sally smiled at him. "And you would be lying now, wouldn't you"

"A very loaded question, your grace, I am damned with whatever I say in reply"

Sally beckoned the trio to stand. "So will someone please tell me why I have been summoned from very warm bath so late at night?"

"Certainly your highness" Geoffrey replied quickly. "Please let me show you something which might warm your heart before you retire to bed" He turned around, picked up the object from the table and finally held it out in front of him for her inspection like a child presenting a gold trophy to his parents that he had just won in an school event.

"It's a badly beaten and charred helmet Geoffrey" Sally stated flatly after a very cursory inspection.

"Please your highness, bear with me for a moment and look a little closer"

She complied reluctantly with his request, moving closer and leaning forward to get a better inspection. Sally ran a finger across the face of the helmet, wiping away some of the ash and charring as she traced the barely visible indentations and patterns. The residue of white paint which had bubbled in the heat of a direct flame could barely be made out around the damaged and cracked eyes sockets. At first she couldn't see what the fuss was all about and then realisation struck her like a hammer blow.

"Is that a dark legion helmet?"

"It would appear to be just that your highness" Ser Anthony butted in before Geoffrey could reply.

"But they are on the floating island" she countered, pouring herself a drink of wine from a nearby jug and taking a very long gulp. "The guardians are perpetually at war with them. I remember Locke explaining it to me a very long time ago when I was a child"

"That is indeed true" Ser Reginald replied.

"So gentlemen please forgive me for asking a very stupid question. Why exactly do we care about this disgusting helmet? We have our own war to concern ourselves with"

"It's not so much the helmet itself your grace" Ser Anthony explained. "But where it was found"

"Do tell..."

"It was found three kilometres behind our front line in a burnt out hamlet called Greenwater. The hamlet was destroyed just under a month ago and all of its inhabitants fled or were killed. According to reports of the investigation the wounds of the dead did not indicate a wolvine attack but further investigation was authorised to dig deeper, it was just simply recorded as an enigma of war and the paperwork filed away for future reference. It has all the hallmarks of being 'hushed up'"

Sally sat down and beckoned for the others to do so as well. Truth be told it had been a long and taxing day and she was becoming increasingly wary. "You mean to tell me chancellor that you think the dark legion committed this attack inside our territory and that it was then censored?"

"That is what the evidence suggests" Anthony replied.

The implications of this allegation were initially lost on Sally but after a few moments the parts of the puzzle fell neatly into place and a world of interesting possibilities suddenly unfolded in front of her eyes. "We need to contact the floating island, the guardians must be told as soon as possible"

"Indeed your highness but I propose waiting until the morning. We will contact them and make them aware that the dark legion appears to be operating outside of the confines of the island"

Sally acknowledged Geoffrey's wise words. It would help no-one to contact the island at such a late hour. Nothing would immediately change overnight and she would prefer to be looking her very best before speaking to any of the brotherhood. "The big question gentleman is what will they decide to do about it?"

"Congratulations on another successful mission archon, it seems my faith in you was not misplaced as some of your peers are inclined to believe"

Kalhadra managed to turn her head slightly to face the speaker. After returning from the mission her men had carried her to the temporary infirmary for immediate medical assistance. The technomedical staff had stripped her of all her armour and set to work fixing the damaged parts of her shoulder and calf. After a quick investigation, one of the senior physicians had informed her that the shot Velkor had fired though her shoulder had also caused irrevocably damage to her left lung and she was now faced with the prospect of having that completely replaced with a bionic substitute. It would be her first internal upgrade and she was, even though she would never admit it, scared of the direction that would eventually lead to.

"I would never fail you my lord" she replied through dry lips.

The grandmaster walked slowly into the room, his large and intimidating frame all but concealed by a jet black cloak he perpetually wore when not in his inner sanctum. All that could be seen of his face was a slight glint of metal where the dimmed lights in the operating room touched his bionic augmentations. His voice was deep and resonant like an idly ticking engine and one thing that Kalhadra had learnt very early in her career was that every word he muttered, regardless how trivial it sounded, was laced with intention. Only the foolish ignored or dismissed what he said. "Your presence does me a great honour my lord, you did not need to visit personally".

"Nonsense child. I am just glad to see that my pet was successful in sparing your life" he purred, tracing a finger along the operating table slowly. "It is a shame that Velkor could not have been dealt with earlier but I needed to be sure that he intended to usurp you. Your mission achieved two things archon, the assessment of response I required and to give Velkor the perfect opportunity to try his luck"

Kalhadra considered his words for a moment before replying. "I am grateful for your foresight my lord, Morgentha performed amicably and no doubt saved my life".

The grandmaster stopped and stood next to the archon, she could feel his breath on her bare shoulders and chest. "How long do they say that you will…indisposed…"

She looked up to try and catch a glimpse of his face but underneath the hood was simply a black void. "No longer than a few days I am assured my lord"

This seemed to satisfy him. "Very good" he purred. "I miss our engagements terribly"

Kalhadra tensed up in shock as the grandmaster traced a metallic finger down her body gently, starting from between her breasts and ending just above her navel. He leaned closer so that his mouth was only a few inches away from her left ear. "However, let me tell you how disappointed I am that you were nearly bested by such a brute. I expected more from you archon. Morgentha was only present as a last resort and I never intended for her to actually get involved"

"I was caught off guard" she replied, taken aback by the change of tack her leader had employed.

"Ah, the common excuse for someone who fails to plan ahead" he sighed. "I thought you were better than that Kalhadra, it is a pity"

The grandmaster tapped her twice on the stomach and leant down to lay a kiss on her forehead. His lips were as cold as ice.

"I'm sorry…" she whispered to him. "Truly sorry…"

"So am I" he replied as he stood up. The grandmaster turned on the spot and approached the doctor who was waiting at a distance respectfully out of earshot.

"My lord?" the doctor asked, nervous at the sudden attention.

"Has she received any pain relief since she was brought here?"

"None my lord. Only what her suppressors deployed after the injuries"

This seemed to satisfy him. "Good. You are to replace her lung?"

"It is damaged beyond repair; a replacement is the only option"

"Very well. You will replace the lung but you will do so with no anaesthetic, do I make myself clear?"

"None at all my lord? The procedure will be incredibly painful. She may not survive the operation."

"Excellent" the grandmaster replied. "Such is the price of failure…"

The doctor stood transfixed with the thought of what he was about to do as the grandmaster turned and left his infirmary. He looked over at the archon on the operating table and then at his bare hands.

"Doctor, are you well?" one of the assistants asked quietly.

"Yes Leanne" he replied. "But I think we are going to need some help. Go and find some soldiers, at least four and bring them here urgently"

"As you wish doctor"

"Oh, and Leanne…" he added as she was about to leave.

"Doctor?"

"Best bring some rope. Lots and lots of rope…"

Thunderhawk moved forward slowly. The corridors were pitch black and he could see nothing at all so he used his staff as a makeshift sounder. He carried on like this for many minutes until bright torch beams lit up the world around him and hurried feet could be heard scuffling in his direction from behind.

"There you are guardian; I thought we had lost you!" the lieutenant stated as he and his squad caught up with him. The officer was clearly relieved to have found the wayward guardian.

"Don't be silly young man" Thunderhawk replied. "I was just taking a look around whilst you got yourself organised"

"Without a torch?"

"I have powers available to me lieutenant that you can't possibly comprehend. Seeing in the dark is the least of them"

A few of the men behind him muttered in amazement. Thunderhawk capitalised on it. "But, I suppose there is no point tiring myself out needlessly. If you have a spare torch I will gladly take one"

The lieutenant nodded to one of his men who quickly gave the guardian his own.

Thunderhawk switched it on and thanked the generous soldier. Directly in front of him lay a long corridor which he could see peeled off to the left and right after around twenty metres. For the last three minutes he had been walking in a straight line like a blind man towards the junction. "Come on then, we haven't got all day" he ordered and took off.

The squad dutifully fell in behind him as he walked. At the end of the junction he took a left for no other reason than it felt correct in his gut and for the next fifteen minutes they progressed in this manner, taking turns based solely on the guardian's intuition. Thankfully they didn't come to any dead ends and when they finally reached a large open expanse which descended via stairs to a floor nearly twenty metres below he stopped them. The room was easily wide enough to accommodate hundreds and Thunderhawk wasn't happy. Something didn't feel right.

"Lieutenant, take your squad and work your way around the outside of this room. Look for something which might be a switch, activation rune or in fact anything out of the ordinary.

"Yes sir" the officer replied and quickly detailed of his squad to do as the guardian ordered. The men split up, half left and half right, bright beams of light from their underslung torches piercing the darkness.

Thunderhawk waited patiently for a few minutes until one of the soldier cried out in acknowledgment. "What have you found?" he shouted, voice echoing annoyingly from the metal walls.

"Not quite sure guardian" the soldier replied. "It looks like a command panel of some sort, lots of buttons…"

The lieutenant worked his way towards the solider and quickly assessed the piece of equipment with his own eyes. "No idea what it does guardian, there appears to be some kind power lever though and some gauges, all of the buttons are covered in symbols I haven't seen before"

"Very well son stay where you are for a moment"

Thunderhawk walked down the steps of the room to the floor below, torch light panning in front of him. He headed towards the centre of the room which he could now make out had some kind of polished black surface at least fifty metres squared. He tapped the floor with the end of his staff and it rang out like marble. "Strange" he muttered to himself.

"Do you want me to pull this lever?" the lieutenant shouted at him from the darkness.

"Wait!" Thunderhawk growled back. "Just wait..." He reached in a pocket and pulled out a small device, no larger than a small stone and placed it on the polished black floor. The device sat there quietly. Nothing happened.

"No power" the guardian mused. "Pull the lever lieutenant if you will" he shouted at the officer.

The soldier did what he was told.

The first thing that Thunderhawk remembered when he regained consciousness ten minutes later was a blinding flash of light and the instantaneous feeling of nausea. The second thing he remembered was watching the device he had carefully placed on the stone vibrate madly and seemingly implode on itself.

The lieutenant was kneeling down beside him. A medic was just about to stick him with a needle containing what looked like adrenaline. "Welcome back to the land of the living guardian, we thought you were dead, how do you feel?"

"Bloody awful and if you jab me with that sonny I will be most unhappy" he replied, staggering to his feet. The polished black surface was humming quietly to itself in front of him. His power reader had indeed disappeared.

"What happened?" the officer asked.

Thunderhawk fought off a bought of dizziness. "We have been outfoxed lieutenant" he replied flatly.

The solitary figure waited patiently, shifting uncomfortably in the cold morning rain. The tree he sheltered under provided only the smallest amount of cover from the downpour and he was becoming increasingly frustrated as time ticked by.

Finally, twenty minutes late, a blur in the rain indicated someone was approaching. He stood up and shook off what excess water he could. "You're late" he seethed.

Out of rain appeared Kalhadra Vesp, raindrops bouncing from her cloak and armour. She stopped only a few feet away. "I was unaware that we had a deadline, traitor. You requested that I meet you around daybreak and here I am, as you will notice, at the required location around daybreak.

"Funny…" he growled in reply.

The archon paced back and forth like a caged tiger eagerly eyeing its dinner. "What of the queen? Has the hoar connected the dots? Does she know that the legion are present in this disgusting place you call a realm?

"I don't know" Lucas replied. "I managed to cover up the attack on Greenwater like we had originally planned but you were the one that left a helmet behind. I still have people on the inside that are loyal and they have informed me that the queen knows about it though whether or not she and her thick headed councillors have connected the dots I can't tell you. Why couldn't you have just been a little more thorough?"

Kalhadra stood motionless. "What do you mean by 'still have people loyal to you'?'"

Lucas shifted uneasily. "The queen has removed me from command"

"That is very unfortunate"

Lucas fumbled inside his jacket for a cigar. When he located one he placed it in his mouth and struggled to light it. "My guess is that she will contact the floating island and speak to your arrogant kin, the guardians. She will probably try and use the helmet as proof of your existence and request military aid. It's what I would do"

Kalhadra thought about the implications of his words. The guardians were not supposed to know about their presence on the surface and if news of the legions intervention reached their ears they would have no choice but to send aid. If the grandmaster ever heard how his plans had been jeopardised….

She shuddered as a bolt of fear ran down her spine. The memory of the operating table was still too raw.

"So, what are we going to do now then?" he asked the archon.

"We?" the archon replied sharply. "_We _will be doing nothing traitor. Fortunately I had already assumed that you were incompetent and likely to fail. To my surprise you lasted a lot longer than I thought you would"

Lucas bristled with anger. Twice in so many days he had been called incompetent by a woman and it was unbearable. He pointed the cigar at the archon. "Now you see here you banshee, I have been helping you for a long time to set this up. I have pulled all the strings, shipped weapons to the wretched Dakar and syphoned as much of the queens funds as I could, just like you asked of me. I have done everything you wanted and more"

It was the cigar Lucas thought later. He should never have pointed the cigar.

Like a bolt of lightning, Kalhadra closed the distance between them and grabbed the traitor by his fingers bending them back and forcing Lucas to stumble. She picked up the fallen cigar and blew on the tip. It flared menacingly. "Smoking is bad for your lungs and can seriously reduce your life span, did you know that?

Lucas nodded, his eyes settling on the flaring cigar. He couldn't move, somehow she had completely paralysed him.

"Trust me when I tell you that they are not easy to replace" she waved the cigar in front of his face letting the smoke sting his nose and then thrust the red hot stick into his left eye.

Lucas howled in agony, birds in nearby trees took to the air in fright.

"Listen to me you worm" she seethed at him ignoring his screaming. "Since you are no longer of any use to me I should put you out of your misery" she twisted the cigar, pushing it in deeper. Lucas tried to buck and break from her grasp but couldn't get away.

Finally after a few moments, she let go and the former general fell to the floor clutching his ruined eye and sobbing loudly.

"But I have a surprise for you Lucas. We have a special role for traitors in the legion and I am sure you will fit right in" Kalhadra motioned behind her and two burly legionnaires stepped forward out of the downpour and grasped Lucas by his arms, dragging him to his feet.

The archon smiled and ruffled the traitor's hair as he was carried past her. "Oh cheer up _genera_l" she added mockingly. "And don't you concern yourself about the eye. We can replace it don't you worry…"


	6. Chapter 5 Bad news

**Chapter 5 – Unwelcome news**

Locke was assisting Sourjourner in repairs of Detori's main capacitors when the AI's clinical voice announced that they had received an incoming coded communications request. His great grandfather was on his back whilst rewiring some circuits and was clearly pretending not to hear the announcement so that left him the only guardian able to answer the call Cursing under his breath, he carefully turned off the plasma burner he was using and threw his protective gloves on top of it. "Detori, who is it?"

_"Encryption code is consistent with the royal palace of Acorn"_

"Interesting…" Sourjourner said, his voice muffled slightly by the confined workspace.

"Oh, you can hear now cant you!" Locke growled and kicked his ancestor's leg. "Any ideas old man?"

"None at all, but if you kick me again sonny I will shove that plasma burner so far up your ass that the next time you need to use it you will only need to open your mouth and breathe"

Locke smirked at Sojourners reprimand. "Detori put the call through to the command room in three minutes"

"_As you wish guardian"_

He donned his bone coloured robe and lifted its hood to shadow his face. When talking to anyone outside of the brotherhood, wearing a cloak was an unwritten rule to maintain the brotherhoods secretive reputation. "I will be back soon and you better have that simple task finished before I get back so we can get this part back up and running"

Sourjourner grunted in reply and continued on with his work. Locke left him to it and headed to the command room his annoyance at being disrupted only slightly offset by his interest in what queen Sally could possibly want. The last thing he needed right now was to deal with another pleading request for assistance in their war effort. If had been solely up to him he would have deployed as many troops as they could spare years ago to help Sally but the rest of the brotherhood had vetoed the decision, preferring to stand back and watch how the events unfolded, ever cautious of embroiling themselves in a surface war when they were already fighting their own civil conflict. To Locke, that was a petty excuse, a get out clause that the guardians had fell back on far too many times for his liking. The fires of conflict between the dark legion and guardians of the floating island had been burning now for nearly two centuries and was not likely to abate any time soon, if at all.

When he reached the reinforced access door to the command room he placed his outstretched right hand onto the biometric scanner which bleeped irritatingly as it confirmed his authentication. The door opened with a hiss of pneumatics and he stepped through into the deliberately dark room beyond. As he entered, the racks of displays on the command cupola switched on with a high pitched whine providing the only light source to penetrate the thick gloom.

Locke sat down in the command chair and flicked the button to bring him up in line with the displays. The chair rotated slowly upwards and through one hundred and eighty degrees and then stopped.

"Detori, main screen"

"_Understood guardian"_

The large display flashed into life, blinding him momentarily until his eyes adjusted. The image on screen was of the security and control room inside the palace. Sat at the centre of a large semi-circular oak table and flanked by most of her privy councillors was queen Sally, dressed in a sumptuous and perfectly fitted yellow dress which showed off her womanly curves to absolute perfection. Any man who met Sally for the first time was taken aback by her beauty but Locke has known her since she was a playful and carefree child. All he saw in front of him now was a woman, a very attractive and powerful woman, but a woman all the same.

"Your highness, to what do I owe this pleasure?"

There was only the slightest delay. "Guardian Locke, it is good to see your face again old friend" she replied.

"The same to you _Sally" _he deliberately used the queens first name and as he had predicted Ser Geoffrey tensed up in anger. It was too easy. There was no love lost between the skunk and the guardians, or for that matter, any echidna.

"Locke, I know that you are busy and so I won't keep you in suspense. A matter of some importance has reared its head and I believe the brotherhood will have a very keen interest in it"

_Polite, concise and to the point. She was getting better every time he spoke to her._ "Very well Sally, as long as it's not another request for military aid, consider me all ears"

Sally nodded to someone off screen that he couldn't see and the orderly placed a black object on the table, directly in front of the queen.

"Detori, magnify the image, let me see what that thing is"

"Magnifying on screen five now guardian, diagnostics initiated"

The screen four down from the central main display suddenly showed a close up and very detailed view of the object on the table. In the screen directly to the right, Detori began his rapid analysis, listing possibilities, dimensions and assumptions. But for the very first time in his life, Locke managed to beat the brotherhoods super computer at making a positive identification. He gripped the arm rests of the chair tightly and gritted his teeth in anger.

"I hope you can see this clearly guardian, my council and I believe it is a..."

"Dark legion infantry helmet your highness, and in that belief you would be correct"

Sally stared directly at the screen; she could see him and Locke new that his anger was showing through. He took a deep breath and calmed his racing pulse as best as possible, losing his cool in front of the queen and her council would only damage the brotherhoods reputation for cold and ruthless efficiency. It could not happen. "Where did you find it?"

A middle aged and athletically build fox answered on behalf of the queen. "It was found in the ruined remains of a dwelling of a hamlet named Greenwater, three kilometres south of the font lines. It had been discarded"

Locke studied the speaker intently, judging him. "And I assume you are General Lucas's replacement?"

The fox looked stunned for a moment but it was the look on every other face in the room which told the best story_, how could he know?_ "You are correct guardian, my name is general Krauptman and I am, as you have correctly surmised, Lucas's replacement"

"Don't worry your highness" Locke reassured her. "You don't have a spy in your camp; it was simply a well educated guess. It tried to influence your father for a long time before he passed regarding Lucas. I told him on more than one occasion that the General would bring nothing but trouble and bother to your realm"

"How true that came to be" she replied softly, her eyes never wavering from his own. "It appears that we are at a crossroads here old friend" she pointed at the helmet. "For the last four painful years we have struggled to hold off the frenzied attacks of the wolves and counter the ruthlessly raids by the Dakar tribes. Now, it seems that not only do we have to contend with both of them but also the infinitely more dangerous dark legion"

"So it seems your highness, though I am unable to shed any light on why they would throw in their lot with the feral bastards down below. They hate all other races with a passion you simply can't comprehend"

"We can't do this Locke. We can't fight two enemies let alone your own twisted kin" Sally pleaded, her voice cracking ever so slightly.

"I know Sally...I know"

"What are you going to do about it guardian?" Ser Anthony asked, trying to force an immediate response.

"I need to let the brotherhood know what we have discussed before I can promise anything, please be patient and I will be back in touch shortly..." the call ended abruptly when he flicked the red power switch.

"Shit!" Locke spat in frustration. But before he acted in haste at the revelation and it's far reaching implications, he took a few moments to gather his thoughts.

"Detori, send a priority omega message to all of the brotherhood and tell them of our findings. Send another priority omega message to all of the military units on reserve that are awaiting deployment and to all field commanders on standby. Tell them to prepare their units for immediate tactical air deployment and extended operations on the surface"

_"Acknowledged guardian, messages are on route, anything else?"_

Locke flicked the switch to lower the chair but as it just began to descend he decided to slide out of the chair and land lightly on the floor metres below. "Yes, prepare a vanguard drop complement of gunships and the guardians own personal shuttle for travel to the surface of Mobius. And find me the commander"

Detori was silent for a few moments. _"Gunships and shuttle will be prepped and ready to leave within the next hour" _he reported_ "commander Glaive's status is currently listed as off duty"_

"Cancel it and use any means necessary to get him to the gunships as soon as possible, I want him down there before nightfall" Locke opened the control room door and for the second time in a few minutes was temporarily blinded, this time by the brighter light in the corridor beyond. "Oh and Detori, try and locate my son, tell him he's going to be joining the commander for a trip to the surface...there are to be no excuses..."

_"Very well guardian, I will do my best..."_

"See that you do" Locke replied as the door closed slowly behind him.

"The cheek of that accursed creature!" ser Anthony bellowed as the link was severed, ending the call abruptly. "No one hangs up on the queen!"

"Agreed Ser Anthony, his arrogance knows no bounds. However, it is part of his DNA and the trait is shared by his entire race" Ser Reginald added.

"We shouldn't have bothered with them your highness, they won't help us, they can't even stop the dark legion on the island let alone if they are down here and are assisting our enemies against us!" Ser Geoffrey growled in agreement with the other two.

The newly promoted general Krauptman stood briskly. "I will assembled the war council immediately your highness and draw up further plans to include the dark legion's capabilities, or at least what little we know of them"

Sally beckoned for them all to calm down. When the general had retaken his seat she took a final look at the charred helmet in front of her and then glanced at the black screen on the wall. "You will do no such thing general; instead you will assemble a welcome party for a very rare visit by our esteemed echidna friends"

"Your highness?" Krauptman gasped. "But I am sure that they won't be coming..."

"General Krauptman, please be aware that I like you a great deal and that is the main reason you have been specifically chosen to replace your blundering predecessor. However please do not continue to believe that questioning my commands is part of your role, it is very tiresome and will not bode well for your future career prospects"

Krauptman gulped and bowed as best he could whilst he sat down. "My apologies your grace, I am nothing like my previous commander"

"I know" Sally replied. "But please be aware that I have also known Locke for a very long time. As a child he was like an uncle to me and was explicitly trusted by my father. I know him and I believe that I know when he is convinced. Now do as I initially requested and prepare a welcoming party for the guests"

"As you wish your grace"

"Ser Harold, I expect you that you are able to organise a suitably modest function for tonight's entertainment at short notice?"

"In that you can be absolutely assured your highness, if there is one thing I am good at, it's organising a party"

"Good..."

"Is there anything else your grace?" Geoffrey asked.

Sally looked once more at the helmet in front of her; it was such an ugly and vile looking thing, full of menace. It somehow seemed to radiate fear which was almost palpable. "Yes Geoffrey, take this thing out of my sight and have it mounted on a pedestal. Make a place for it in the grand corridor alongside the other artefacts and items on display.

"You actually want to display it?" Geoffrey replied.

"Yes, I want to be able to walk past it every day and be able to remember the moment which swung the tide of the war in our favour for the first time. Not everything that is useful is also aesthetically pleasing Ser Geoffrey"

"As you command your highness" the skunk picked up the blackened helmet.

"Very well gentleman, let's be about it, we have a lot to do before they arrive" Sally stood up and the others followed, bowed individually and left the room leaving her alone once again.

Alone, Sally stared at the large black screen and hoped to her very core that she did know Locke as well as she had proclaimed to the council; otherwise the helmet might be the portent of a completely different kind of result for her realm and the final outcome of that was simply far too dire to consider.

Thunderhawk sat alone, cross legged, on the grass some distance from the facility whilst the troops that he had travelled with him milled around near their personnel carriers waiting for another order. He couldn't provide them with one, at least not yet. When they had finally made it back out of the dark corridors to the light of day his first action was to check his data slate for any news that his family might have picked up from their investigations.

He had immediately read the message from Locke regarding the legion helmet found on the surface. It was, he had to admit, disturbing news.

The brotherhood must be told of his own personal findings before any further action could be taken so he took a few moments to steady his mind and focus. The nausea was still present but it was now greatly reduced and for that he was grateful.

The guardian looked blankly at the data slate that lay on the grass in front of him. He pressed a button.

"Detori, open a link to the rest of the brotherhood, priority one message"

"_Understood guardian"_

It took a few moments before anything happened and in this time Thunderhawk knew that he was hunting down his fellow guardians as they also went about their individual investigations. He knew that Locke and his father were still at Haven completing urgent repairs but of Spectre and Sabre he knew little and he guessed that they had also picked seemingly abandoned facilities to explore and could be anywhere by now.

His son was the first to reply. A holographic projection of Sabre's face hovered a few inches above Thunderhawk's slate. "Please give me good news father"

"If only I could. I fear that I may have found a part of the puzzle we were missing"

Sabre was suddenly joined by Locke, Sojourner and a few moments later, Spectre. Their faces also hovering above the data pad. It would seem strange to anyone who had not seen the spectacle before but it was the best way the guardians knew of having a 'remote debate' as they liked to call it.

"I assume that you have all read Locke's message gentlemen?" Sabre asked them.

"Worrying news indeed" Spectre replied gruffly.

"Very worrying" Thunderhawk added. "However I have located more data to add to the equation gentlemen and I promise that you will not like it. The legion have developed Teleporters. Big teleporters."

"Teleporters?" Sourjouner scowled. "Are you sure?"

Thunderhawk thought back briefly to the white light, the disappearing power reader and his ten minutes of unconsciousness. "Positive"

"So that's how the bastards did it" Locke replied.

"Indeed. But the question is brothers, why would they teleport to the surface? Why did they leave?"

"I don't know" Spectre added. "But we need a presence on the ground. They cannot be allowed to interject in anyway with the goings on of the surface. It is bad enough that we fail to stop them on the island; our reputation is forfeit if they manage to escape us.

"Excellent point" Sabre replied. "Where is_ the_ guardian?"

Locke sighed. "He is, how shall I say, taking a break…"

The silence was deafening.

"Taking a break?" Sabre seethed. "From what?"

"Probably you and your constant ramblings. It's enough for anyone" Sojourner chided.

Sabre growled at his grandfather and then returned to the business at hand. "He can't take a break. It's not possible. Where is he?"

"Relax father, I have sent a recall message. He will be on a shuttle to the surface before nightfall"

That seemed to placate them enough Thunderhawk thought. Even though he disagreed with the concept of 'taking a break' he knew that sometimes you just needed a little time to clear your thoughts and take stock of a situation. It was called regrouping. "So, the next course of action gentlemen?" he asked.

"We need to confirm why they have decided to up and leave, there are still pieces missing" Spectre stated. "The investigations are still not over my brothers, something doesn't smell right"

They all nodded in agreement.

"Well, I am going to find somewhere else to poke my nose into" Thunderhawk replied. "I appear to be on a roll. Let me know if you find anything else gentlemen. Thunderhawk out"

He pressed the button on his slate to sever the link with the other guardians and then called over the young lieutenant who was in charge of his troops.

"Yes guardian?" the officer asked when he was in earshot.

"Get all of the men loaded up lieutenant" Thunderhawk told him. "And prepare to move out. We're going on a road trip"

The cool and gentle morning breeze was perfect, its touch like the finest silk being slowly pulled across your skin. The playful currents toyed with his spines causing them flap lazily in its embrace, whipping them around gently as it randomly changed direction. The heating touch of the sun bounced from his skin and short fur, warming him to his very core. He inhaled deeply, savouring the smells of blooming flowers and rare fauna as it wafted on the breeze, their combined aroma creating the very sweetest perfume nature could provide.

Kneeling on the soft grass and peering out over the edge of the sheer mountain cliff, Knuckles, the current guardian of the floating island and all of its inhabitants was at peace for the first time in as long as he could remember. It had taken two days to reach this place, high up in the Corpus mountain range to the south of the island but right now and in this place, the effort had been well and truly worth it. Knuckles had read about this spot once, a long time ago in a book in the library at Haven. Before he had even finished the pages he had promised himself there and then that he would seek it out for himself and bask in its beauty. The book was lying of course, its images completely falsified. In real life, the location was more beautiful than he could possibly have imagined, it was as perfect as he had always hoped it to be.

It felt like home.

It was only spoilt by his father, or more accurately Detori on his father's orders, attempting to contact him multiple times over the last few days. He had simply ignored the messages as he always did. Knuckles had tried to explain to his father before he left that he was taking a few days away from active duty in order to settle his mind and try to relax. The confused look on his father's face when the words finally sank in through his thick skull had been priceless. Locke simply couldn't comprehend why anyone would want to take a break and it was clear that the concept was completely alien to him.

A low hum in the distance gently forced its way into his mind as he tried to relax further. Only when the sound escalated did he recognise it. It was an aircraft engine. Knuckles didn't even open his eyes to try and spot it.

"Rex, you are a complete bastard" he growled at his wrist mounted personal AI.

"_I am sorry guardian but your father has issued a priority one call to the entire brotherhood" _

"You could have simply ignored it"

"_You are perfectly aware that I am unable to ignore a message with such a high priority rating. It is a standard operating procedure programmed into my operating system. I have no choice but to automatically respond with your status, co-ordinates and a short acknowledgment of the message being received. _

Knuckles sighed and finally opened his eyes. He stared down at the device attached to his left wrist and tapped the exit button to clear the menus and the message which had clearly been sent by his father. "How long before they get here?"

_"Not enough time for you to make it into cover guardian"_ Rex replied.

Knuckles stood up and reluctantly resigned himself to his fate. A gunship was rapidly ascending up to his position and the pilot would be able see him now. Not that visibility made much of a difference of course as the co-ordinates Rex had unwillingly provided would be more useful that the pilot's eyes. Using them the pilot could bring the aircraft right down on top of him, even in thick cloud.

The gunships engines screamed loudly as it fought for thrust in the thin mountain air. When it came within a few dozen metres, in a feat of control that only few could hope to achieve, the pilot span the aircraft round ninety degrees and jinked the gunship sideways towards him, closing the gap to no more than two metres between it and the cliff edge. The side hatch to the gunship slammed open and a familiar, fully armoured and armed figure was suddenly revealed. He was using a handle inside the aircraft to brace against the rushing air pouring in through the open hatch but was still grinning wildly.

"Drake Surewind" Knuckles greeted his friend. "What has happened to this world that is so dire my father had to dredge the barrel and send you out all the way down here to come and get me?"

"How about get your fat guardian ass aboard this bird and I will tell you"

Knuckles laughed. "And if I refuse?"

"I'm ordered to kick your ass and drag you in"

"That won't be necessary, step aside"

Drake did as he was told and Knuckles cleared the gap easily to the hovering gunship. When he was safely inside, Drake slammed the hatch shut and took a deep breath, fighting to get air into his lungs after it had been sucked out in the sudden vacuum. "I'm glad you agreed to come" he panted.

"Why?" Knuckles replied whilst sitting down on one of the uncomfortable steel seats and locking himself into the harness.

"Because I was bluffing"

Knuckles shook his head in disbelief, and closed his eyes. "Sit down and tell me what you know" he tapped the steel seat next to him.

The deafening sound of the gunships engines churning up the pristine air echoed from the mountain tops for a long time afterwards, even lingering after the gunship and its cargo had disappeared well over the horizon.


	7. Chapter 6 Reunion

**Reunion**

She had once overheard someone describe the taste as like chewing on a strip of tin plate. The residual energy which failed to dissipate after teleporting always smothered the surrounding air like a blanket and when you breathed it in it did in fact taste like metal. If that was even possible.

Lien-Da, archon of the ninth chapter waited patiently, flanked on both sides by her most trusted lieutenants. She noticed how all of them had wisely chosen to stand well back from the polished stone of the teleporter array which had only been recently constructed in the legion headquarters. "Are you ready magos?" she asked a large and highly mechanised figure that might once have been an echidna. He stood behind a control panel nearby.

"The co-ordinates have been successfully locked archon. We are ready to commence the transition" he replied.

Lien-Da nodded and gave the signal to commence. The magus pulled a lever.

A deep hum began to vibrate the walls and floor quickly building in frequency and violence. Dust particles that had sat immobile on the polished stone began to bounce and shake and the pressure in the room rose sharply. Some of the lieutenants backed off a few extra spaces whilst others struggled to retain balance as the ground continued to shake and the air thicken with static.

Then, in a brilliant flash of white light everything suddenly returned to normal.

In the centre of the floor the grandmaster stood like a statue, his large and sinister figure completely immobile. Two of the retinue that had teleported alongside him started to vomit noisily, clutching their stomachs whilst the remainder all swayed or grasped their heads as the unavoidable nausea overcame them.

"Welcome back brother" she greeted him.

"Sister…" the grandmaster replied as he walked towards her.

All of her officers saluted the grandmaster as he strode past them. "Archon, walk with me" he demanded.

Lien-Da immediately matched her brothers pace and dismissed her retinue as they began to tag on. Something wasn't right. He was angry.

When they were out of earshot she decided to break the silence. "I trust everything is going to plan?"

"Yes. And no"

"Your meaning?"

Kalhadra and the seventh completed their probing attack as I requested. Velkor did make his move but Morgentha interjected and spared her life."

"That is a shame" Lien-Da replied. The whole legion knew of the bad blood between the archons of the seventh and ninth and she would have felt no remorse if Kalhadra had been killed, ideally painfully. "I trust you have disciplined her for allowing Velkor to best her?"

The grandmaster nodded. "She will remember the lesson for a long time to come"

Lien-Da smiled. She knew how much of a bastard her brother could be and just hoped that Kalhadra was now suffering as much as possible. "And what about the deception? Was Morgentha successful?"

"Yes. She managed to leave Velkor's helmet behind so it shouldn't take too long before the Acornians find it and put connect the dots"

"Do you think they will approach the brotherhood?"

"Do they have a choice?"

Lien-Da shook her head. He was right of course. The queens armed forces were all but broken and when they found that the legion were now entering the picture she would have no choice but to go squealing for help. "But are you sure they will send _him?"_

"The queen and the guardian have a very long history sister, who else would they send? One of the cripples? No. He will help, he has to." The grandmaster nodded to a pair of guards who manned the doors approaching the headquarters command room. They saluted smartly and opened the portal so that he and his senior archon could enter. As they both entered, the whole room stood silent in respect until he waved a hand to tell them to continue with their business. The grandmaster ignored a few of the officer who tried to hand him data slates to review and continued on to an elevator shaft at the other end of the room. He beckoned Lien-Da to join him and she did so obediently.

When she was also aboard he pressed the lowest of the buttons which would take them to the catacombs and the elevator began to descend slowly. The grandmaster and the archon stood side by side in silence for a long while. "I have given orders for Kolthar to attack the palace with the eighth and capture the queen. He will use the wolves as bait to try and lure the guardian and his troops away first and to this end he has requested the assistance of Morgentha to lower their meagre defence grids before the strike hits home. I granted his request of course as was only prudent"

"Of course brother" Lien-Da replied. At the mention of his name she tried hard to banish the flashbacks of Kolthar's rough but remarkably skilled hands running over her flesh as if devouring every inch of her.

The elevator stopped suddenly ceasing her daydreaming in a hiss of hydraulics. The doors opened and they both continue onward towards the armouries and secure storage facilities. This far down, the cavernous rooms were quite literally carved from the rock that made up the underside of the floating island and this gave the very lowest levels of the headquarters a mysterious and macabre atmosphere.

"How goes the preparation for the activation?" he asked off hand as they paced down the long and stuffy corridors towards their destination.

"The initial tests have proved successful in every specification. We have activated the machine twice so far on low power levels in order to judge its abilities. I must say, the magi have outdone themselves my lord. The shield that it generates is pretty much invulnerable and has withstood everything we have thrown at it"

"Excellent Lien, we will need to activate it on full power very soon. I am trusting you to makes sure there are no unfortunate hiccups which may disrupt our plans"

"Have faith brother. I will not fail you" Lien-Da replied just before they reached the large stone doors to the legions headquarters most secure area. She produced a small but intricate key, slotted it into the keyhole in the centre of the doors and turned gently.

The locking mechanism on the door instantly retracted in a cloud of compressed gas. The doors opened slowly revealing the massive cavern beyond. It was dominated by a huge and menacing easily the size of a three battle tanks stacked on top of each other. The device was covered in chrome pipes and brass etching; control panels festooned its surface with bright lights and readouts. It was terrible to gaze upon but the sight of it sent a shiver of excitement down Lien's spine.

"With this machine we will take back what is rightfully ours sister" the grandmaster exclaimed. "For two thousand years our ancestors have fought against the guardians and their disillusioned kin but we will be ones to finally finish the war. We will take our places as the leaders of our race and crush the guardians into nothing and once we have killed all who oppose us we will remove them from the history books. In one hundred years from now, no-one will even remember them"

Lien-Da looked at the machine and then at her brother as he stood mesmerised by the sight of his creation. Very soon, all of the strife and struggle would have been worth it. Very soon they would be victorious.

Very soon every single one of the guardians would be dead and that thought brought an unbidden smile to her lips.

* * *

"Well met commander" Knuckles nodded as he hopped down from the open hatch and landed with a heavy thud on the steel flight deck.

"Guardian" Jacob replied, offering his strong hand.

"It's been a while" Knuckles said as he took the offered hand in his own and pulled Jacob close into a strong embrace.

The commander returned the gesture and slapped the guardian on the back a few times. "Please forgive me for jumping straight into business guardian but I have been tasked with accompanying you to the palace and investigating the reports of legion activity on the surface"

Knuckles looked over Jacobs shoulder and took a quick stock of the assembled equipment, hardware, vehicles and manpower. "And this size of a force is required for a simple investigation is it?"

"Your father has requested that I prepare all available assets under my immediate command for combat operations. What you see here is just an advance guard and won't be deployed until we know what we are dealing with" he pointed to the guardian's personal 'thunder' pattern gunship which was being prepared and armed as they spoke. "I will be joining you on the initial flight directly to the palace and when we arrive we are directed to liaise with the queen and her council as to the course of our next actions"

"Any particular reason you are wearing your best uniform?" Knuckles asked, stepping off towards his own aircraft.

"I was at a funeral when I got the call"

"Sorry to hear that Jacob, anyone I know?"

"I wouldn't have thought so guardian and to be honest the guy was a complete asshole. I was only there because I had to be"

"Duty calls" Knuckles smiled.

"And we respond" the commander finished the well-known echidna military saying. "But speaking of attire, I took the liberty of having your favourite items loaded on board; you will additionally find a fresh set of robes already inside courtesy of your father"

Knuckles sighed. He hated the robes with a passion.

Drake stepped up behind him and rested his right hand on Knuckles shoulder. "I thought you'd like it if I tagged along, you know, to back you up if you somehow manage to get yourself into trouble again?"

"And what makes you think the guardian can't handle himself sergeant?"

"I've known this guy for fifteen years commander and I've lost count of the times I've hauled his ass out of it"

Jacob laughed and nodded his head toward the waiting shuttle. "You haven't changed Drake but we are leaving right now, are you ready?"

"Always ready" Drake replied and tapped his custom assault rifle which dangled lazily by his right hip on a sling. "My mother, Edmund rest her soul, said I was born ready ever since the midwife had to catch me as I legged it down the maternity ward"

"Come on then gentlemen; let's get this show on the road" Knuckles laughed as thoughts of a young Sally flashed through his mind. Even though he was still peeved about being recalled he was secretly looking forward to meeting with her again after so many years apart.

* * *

General Krauptman checked his watch and cursed under his breath. Regardless what his queen thought he still didn't believe for a second that the guardian she called Locke would be coming to the surface to assist them. He had never met an echidna face to face but was very aware that they believed themselves to be better than any of the surface dwellers. Though he was already set against the idea he would despise them as much as Geoffrey he was also determined to succeed where his foolish predecessor had failed and if the queen trusted Locke he would find it in himself to give the guardians at least one chance.

So now, sat patiently in the passenger seat of his staff car he waited. It had just turned three o'clock in the afternoon and he had baked in the car for seven painfully long hours. Krauptman had long since finished counting all of the rivets in the upholstery and lights in the car. Now he was getting very close to calling the whole thing off.

A young lieutenant suddenly tapped on the window and after a few seconds of scrabbling with the controls, Krauptman pressed the button to wind it down.

"Control tower reports that a lone shuttle is inbound sir, ETA less than one minute"

"Very well lieutenant, thank you" Krauptman replied, genuinely surprised. After a few moments to gather his thoughts he stepped out onto the concrete runway and placed his cap on his head. He used the polished car window as a mirror to straighten his cap before he walked off to join up with the rest of his senior officers who made up the initial greeting party. The general made sure they were all smart and prepared then took up his place in front of them to wait.

Soon after, a large whine heralded the approach of an aircraft which was barely visible at first amongst the cloud cover. Krauptman realised that the aircraft was descending at a particularly steep angle at high speed but just when he thought the aircraft was going to crash it pulled up at the last possible moment, levelling out only meters from the ground. For a few seconds it hovered haphazardly before the pilot reduced the thrust from the engines and gently set the aircraft down on the runway, the suspension rods on each wingtip descending to level the machine as it touched the ground. At this point a furious down blast hit the welcoming party like a tidal wave, very nearly throwing a few of them off their feet and sending more than one cap spinning away down the runway. The pilot cut the power to the engines abruptly, ending the deafening noise as quickly as it had arrived and the silence that immediately followed was only broken as the landing ramp of the shuttle slowly descended.

General Krauptman waited with baited breath.

A large figure, face concealed by the hooded cloak he wore about his shoulders stepped out of the dark interior of the aircraft, ducking ever so slightly to miss the entrance hatch sill due to his height. As he descended the boarding ramp, heavy footsteps ringing from the steel, it was clear to everyone watching that this was a guardian. As the figures right foot stepped onto the concrete the welcoming party saluted him and Krauptman, with some hesitance, stepped forward to greet him personally.

Krauptman considered himself to be an athletic individual as strong and as fit as someone half his age but even he had to admit that the individual now standing in front of him was playing in an entirely different league. Underneath the cloak he wore a set of robes similar to those Krauptman had seen on Locke but where his had been an off white colour, these robes were matt black and trimmed with a very tasteful line of dark grey.

The General looked up into the face of the guardian and tried his very best not to be intimidated and show his nerves.

"Sir, it is my pleasure to welcome you on behalf of my queen to our realm. My name is General Krauptman, the head of the queen's armed forces"

"Well met General" the individual returned his greeting. He removed his hood slowly to reveal a strong and wizened face to those gathered, long deep red spines framing his features as they hung limply down across his shoulders and back. The guardian held out a hand in front of him for the General to shake and smiled warmly. "My name is Knuckles, current guardian of the floating island and I thank you for your kind reception" he bowed sincerely.

Krauptman was just a little bit awestruck. Everything he had heard and seen of the guardians had led him to believe he would be simply dismissed out of hand. Taking the guardians hand in his own and shaking it firmly he was shocked to feel a heavy metal gauntlet inlaid under the leather gloves he wore. "Thank you for coming guardian, it will mean much to the queen to know you have arrived"

Knuckles placed a firm hand on the general's shoulder. "It means a great deal for me as well general. It has been many, many years since I set foot on Acorn soil". The guardian turned as he heard Jacob and Drake step down the ramp behind him. "General please let me introduce you to commander Jacob. Unfortunately the rank of general does not exist on the island but he is as close to one as we have and I am confident that you will be able to learn many things from each other. Jacob Glaive is the very best field commander I have ever met, without exception, and is trusted explicitly by the brotherhood"

Jacob offered out a hand and Krauptman shook it. "Greetings general"

"And to you commander" the Krauptman replied, noticing with despair the only marginal difference in size between the guardian and his commander. Jacob wore a suit of well-fitting black flak armour and carried an effective looking combat helmet in the crook of his left arm.

"And may I inquire who this is?" Krauptman nodded towards the fully armed and armoured Drake who had taken up a position just behind Knuckles and was busy lighting a cigarette despite being dangerously close to the shuttles fuel tanks.

"Me?" Drake replied. He took a long drawn out puff on the cigarette and then flicked the ash away nonchalantly. "I'm his bodyguard…" he nodded to the frowning guardian.

"His name is Drake Surewind general. He is a close friend." Knuckles added, dismissing Drakes boast out of hand.

"As you say guardian" Krauptman replied. "But now that formalities are over I would appreciate if you would be so kind as to follow me. It is my belief that the queen has been informed of your visit and is awaiting your presence in the palace"

"Let's not keep her waiting then!" Drake butted in before Knuckles could reply. "I've never met a queen before"

"No" Krauptman scowled at the clearly insubordinate solider. "Let's not…"

* * *

They arrived at the palace only a few minutes later, the staff car pulling up slowly to the main gates. From there Krauptman led the trio up the long gravelled pathway to the palaces main entrance. Flanking the doors on either side sixteen royal guards stood to attention, ceremonial swords held in two hands and the points resting on the gravelled floor. Stood between them and barring the way into the palace, Ser Geoffrey hailed the party as they came close. "Welcome to Mobius guardian, it's been how long? Twenty years?" the contempt was clear in his voice.

Knuckles held up his right hand as if to sue for peace. "I am here to speak to the queen not to you. Stand aside please and let me pass"

Geoffrey grunted a reply under his breath and nodded towards Drake and Jacob who both carried firearms on display. "No one sees the queen if they are carrying a weapon, not even you. Hand them over"

"Do you like to play games skunk?" Drake bit back. "Let's play one, it's called if you can take them off me, you can have them"

"I don't play games" Geoffrey sneered. "Especially not with the likes of you"

"Do as Ser Geoffrey asks and hand over your personal weapons" Knuckles ordered before hostilities commenced.

Jacob removed the power cell from his sidearm and passed them both to a nearby orderly. Drake, muttering obscenities as he did so, reluctantly cleared and finally passed over his sidearm and rifle as well. Knuckles reached down to his hips and pulled out two large calibre pistols from their holsters, concealed from view by the cloak he wore. He handed them directly to Ser Geoffrey who smiled sarcastically.

"_Thank you_ for your co-operation guardian"

Knuckles returned his sarcastic smile and nodded to the large oak doors behind the skunk, they were still shut. "Are we allowed to proceed now?"

Geoffrey turned and walked up to the doors. When he reached them he tapped three times and they began to open slowly. "Be aware that her highness was not expecting you. She is prepared to receive your father or one of the more senior guardians" he stepped aside.

Knuckles ignored the insult and replaced his hood causing his face to become shadowed once again. Even though he hated the theatrics his ancestors insisted upon they ultimately did have a reputation to uphold and if he was going to be forced to make an entrance then he was determined to at least do it in style.

The queen sat upon her throne flanked by her ladies in waiting and at her request the whole court had been assembled in the throne room, dressed in their finery and patiently awaiting the arrival of the floating islands delegation. She had ordered that the large room be decorated as best as possible in the short time available and insisted that correct ceremony procedures would be followed. It was important to show the guardians that even though her country was fighting a bitter war, they were not as beaten as some might have believed. It was vital to make them see that her realm was worth investing their manpower and resources in. She had to make them believe her realm was worth saving.

She had to put on a show.

Over the quiet murmurs of conversation her ears barely caught the sound of three knocks. The guards on either side of the doors began to drag them open slowly in response, flooding the throne room with red tinged light from the setting sun.

Silhouetted against the bright light; she could clearly see the shape of three figures.

As the doors opened to their fullest extent, a quad of musicians broke into a fanfare, filling the hall with loud trumpeting which went on for some time. The hushed conversations stopped immediately as all eyes turned to regard the guests.

Sally sat transfixed with anticipation and as the fanfare ended the three shadows began to walk forward. The queen stood up in front of her throne and crossed her hands behind her back to prevent her fidgeting with nerves. The trio walked up the red carpet which ran the length of the room and stopped a respectable distance from the queen.

"I welcome you to the royal palace of Acorn, honoured guardian, and I thank you on behalf of the realm for responding to our request for aid so swiftly" Sally proclaimed regally, summoning every ounce of royal authority she could.

The large hooded figure fell to one knee, prompting the two other male echidnas to follow suit. "No thank you is required your highness, it is entirely my pleasure to attend to you in your hour of need. I only wish I could have come sooner" he replied.

Sally didn't recognise the voice but she was aware that there were other guardians to the few she had spoken to. Almost by instinct she crossed the gulf between the throne and the guardian, stopping only few feet away from the hooded figure. "Stand my lord, you have no need to bow to me and I am not your queen" she beckoned for him to stand.

Knuckles did as he was commanded. When he was finally stood upright he lowered his hood slowly and transfixed Sally with a meaningful gaze. "Sally…" he whispered so that only she could hear "how wrong you are. You are my queen and you always have been"

She gasped, for once completely lost for words. It was him. He had come. It had been twenty years, almost a lifetime, but she had never forgotten the last time she had set eyes on him. Her heart was pounding and suddenly the world around her seemed to fade away into a haze. She could feel the blood as it flushed from her face causing her world to start slowly spinning. "Knuckles…" she managed.

"You are swaying your grace"

"I'm sorry, I feel like I have just seen a ghost" she whispered to him.

"You pretty much just have"

Sally managed to smile weakly at his reply but it still took a good thirty seconds to finally steady herself and regain some measure of control over her emotions and shakes.

"I hoped that the brotherhood would respond but I didn't know that they would be sending '_the guardian'_ of the floating island to Mobius" she proclaimed to the room and assembled court as she returned back to her throne. "My loyal subjects please welcome the current guardian of the floating island and very dear personal friend of mine that I have not seen since I was a young girl"

The assembled court clapped at their queen's command, some more enthusiastically than others. Knuckles nodded to the crowd in recognition of their applause. "Thank you your highness but I must say that I am a little overwhelmed at the reception you have prepared for me. I'm unsure of what to do next as such formalities are very few and far between back home..." Knuckles left the question hanging, hoping for a reply as he was getting just a little uncomfortable with the attention. All of the pairs of eyes focusing on him were making his skin itch and something, somewhere, was faintly setting his nerves on end.

"Chambers have been prepared for you prior to your arrival and will be yours for the duration of your stay. I am also informed that Ser Harold has organised a welcoming function this evening in your honour"

"That is correct your highness" Ser Harold, a small mole who Knuckles immediately pigeonholed as 'unstrustable' answered his queen.

Knuckles bowed. "Your hospitality is most welcome your highness"

"It is my pleasure guardian. Ser Harold will show you to your chambers and provide you with anything you require"

As they were leaving the throne room, Sally couldn't help take a final glance at the departing guardian and wonder what his arrival meant for her realm. She beckoned to Bunny who was stood directly to her right and the rabbit padded over softly.

"Bunny, whatever they need, we must provide it. We need the echidnas to fully commit to our plight. Spare no expense at all. Is that clear?"

"Crystal, your highness"

"Excellent" Sally replied feeling the first sign of a smile crease her lips. "But before you see to our guests, I need your help to prepare for tonight. I was not expecting Knuckles to come I want to make an impression"

"Don't you worry Sally, we can do that I promise"

"Good" the queen purred as a warm feeling of anticipation started to rise in her belly.


	8. Chapter 7 Old Friends, New Foes

**Old friend. New foes.**

Knuckles had been placed directly to the right of the queen at the head of the first table. The queen was sat upon a smaller version of her throne, raised above the guests and others in attendance whilst Jacob and Drake had been accommodated further down the table to his right. Protocol was clearly important to the queen and he wouldn't upset the boat within hours of stepping foot in her realm so he continued to make small talk with the others around the table. Until now she had not paid much attention to him and he was just about to make a start on the third course when she interrupted him for the first time.

"Guardian, I apologise for my decor earlier, your appearance was most unexpected"

Knuckles lowered his cutlery and turned to face her. "You have no need to apologise your highness as you have done nothing wrong. Unlike you I had time to prepare myself for setting eyes upon you after all this time and I can't tell you how glad I am to have had this opportunity to see you again"

The queen smiled softly at him, her beautiful eyes sparkling in the candle light. "I have missed you old friend"

"And I you your grace"

This seemed to be enough for the queen and she left him alone again to continue talking trivial matters of state with the various councillors she was surrounded by. Just as he was about to continue eating, Knuckles suddenly heard raucous laughter and he peered down the length of table to see what was going on. Drake was entertaining and it was no surprise to find that his friend had gathered an audience which was literally hanging on every one of his words. He was more than likely telling filthy jokes and regaling stories to the ladies and gentleman of his dashing bravery and feats of martial prowess whilst following in the guardians wake.

Drake's constant humour, even when the odds had been stacked sorely against them, was one of the reasons that Knuckles tolerated him. Yes, there were times when his belligerent and carefree attitude had caused unbelievable problems for the brotherhood. But in Knuckles personal opinion, they were easily offset by the amount of occasions when Drakes relentlessness, outstanding ability as a soldier and occasional downright ruthlessness had turned the tide to his advantage. Over the years he had developed a very close bond with his erstwhile friend, and now even though he would never openly admit it, Drake had become the closest thing to a brother that he had ever known. Even Jacob was laughing at his jokes and Edmund only knew how hard it was to get the commander to laugh at anything.

The rich food ran into twelve courses and was, in his opinion, completely over the top. Eventually after what he guessed was the third round of deserts, the queen finally beckoned for the food to cease and informed everyone that they should move next door to the royal ballroom for drinks, dancing and music. The royal ballroom turned out to be a very large room with an open dance floor which took up most of the space available. It was decorated far too richly for his taste and as he entered the room he caught a faint glimpse of Geoffrey staring at him. Knuckles dismissed it out of hand. The skunk had always had a chip on his shoulder regarding the echidnas and Knuckles wasn't about to walk over to him and try to bury the hatchet. Instead, he deliberately dodged most of the guests and sought out the open doors to the balcony beyond, hoping to Edmund that the night sky outside was cool. The heat generated by the mass of guests and the heaviness of the feast on his stomach was making him drowsy and he needed to feel fresh air on his face. He wasn't disappointed.

Stepping out into the cold night air was like walking into an elemental wall, its cooling touch immediately helping him to focus his mind once again. Knuckles leaned on the balconies ornamental steel railings, looking out over the lake which flanked the right side of the palace, its gentle waves lapping quietly against the stone of the walls far below him. Toria, Mobius's beautiful moon, dominated the night sky, bathing the entire landscape in sensual blue and violet hues. In the distance, the familiar shape of treetops silhouetting themselves against the moon indicated the location of the palatial forest and hunting grounds. Surrounding Toria, the sky glittered with uncountable bright and beautiful stars; it was exactly how he remembered it to be in his dreams. The only thing spoiling his daydream was the ever present feeling that something hostile was nearby. It was like a warning bell flaring his synapses.

"Bring back memories guardian?"

Knuckles smiled as he heard the queen's soft voice behind him. "Indeed your highness, many happy memories and just as many sad ones"

Sally walked over and copied his stance, leaving a respectable amount of space between them both. "I remember when we used to play for hours amongst those trees" she stated, nodding to the vast area of forest directly ahead of them both. "We used to take it in turns to hide and seek. They were happy times"

Knuckles said nothing but picked up the glass and took a long gulp of the excellent champagne.

"You grew up guardian" Sally smiled, staring at him for a long time. "I didn't recognise you at first in your formal attire"

He returned her gaze, working his way from her toes upward and taking his time to soak in her luscious curves. Sally wore a simple but extremely flattering midnight black dress which revealed a generous amount of lower leg and just a fleeting glance of the top of her breasts. On her feet, simple black high heels displayed her perfectly manicured toes. The queen's slender but toned arms were completely bare and her deep red luscious hair had been left to its own devices. Knuckles marvelled at how full of life and volume it was as it danced in the crosswind. Over her shoulder, the queen looked at him with her piercing blue eyes which appeared to look directly into his soul. Her delicate muzzle and nose seemed to involuntarily force his gaze lower to her beautifully proportioned neck and breasts. She wore no jewellery or crown as it was clear that no necklace, ring or bracelet could have done anything to improve to add to her already stunning beauty. She was perfect.

"These things?" he finally managed to reply and pointed down to his current choice of clothing. "Apparently they are part of the job but I've never seen the attraction of them to tell you the truth. I will admit, they are warm and light but they look so old fashioned, don't you think? The Brotherhood is insistent that I wear them for formal occasions but personally I think they need to move with times. Fashion has progressed a great deal since they were designed two thousand years ago" he added. "And let me say with all sincerity, your highness, that you look beautiful tonight"

The queen was clearly taken aback by the comment. "Thank you…" she purred eventually.

"You're welcome" Knuckles replied and looked out over the lake and hunting grounds once again.

Now it was her turn to give him a long approving look, marvelling at his strong and powerful build, the ruggedness of his face and deep red of his fur. His violet eyes soft and warm despite the obvious edge of danger that he carried around him like a cloak. "You filled out guardian, when I last saw you; you were an arrogant little boy that never liked to lose"

Knuckles returned her gaze, locking her eyes with his own. "And when I last saw you, you were a very clumsy girl who loved to win far too much"

"Touché" The queen replied. She smiled wistfully at him and sipped at her champagne. "Still, you could have at least tried to contact me, twenty years is far too long Knuckles"

"I've been at war Sally, the dark legion are relentless"

"I can understand that, really I can. It's just a shame that our lives had to take opposite directions so young. As a child you were my only friend and when you left it was almost like a part of me went with you"

"It wasn't my choice. I was forced to leave. You know that."

"I know guardian" she sighed, sidling up to him to within a few inches. "We both had destinies to fulfil. You had to return to your people on the island whilst I grew up amongst my own future subjects. It's not like our fathers were easy to disobey"

"If you asked mine now, I don't this he would agree with you"

Sally laughed. "Are you telling me that when the brotherhood say 'jump' you don't say 'how high'? Are you a wayward sibling guardian?"

Knuckles turned around and leaned lazily on the railings, supporting himself on his elbows. "Pretty much princess. The brotherhood likes to think they tell me what to do but in reality, I very rarely listen to them and tend to make things up as I go along. The active guardian's word is final and what I say is unquestionable, even by the brotherhood"

_Princess_, Sally thought_. I haven't heard that in a long time._ "That doesn't sound like the Knuckles I remember" she replied sarcastically. "You were always obedient and listened to your father"

"I grew up and realised that a lot of what he and his ancestors say is bullshit" He chuckled as she flinched when he swore. "But what about you your grace? You seem to be inundated with enough councillors to start a small army"

Sally waved him off. "Most of them are the remnants of my father's court and I haven't the heart to turn them out of their roles. Truth be told, many of them are very good but others are just a little lax"

Knuckles nodded in understanding, instantly knowing that Ser Harold was one of them she had referred to as 'lax'. "You could just get rid of them. Find some younger and more capable individuals that would serve you better."

"I could but now is not the time. What I need at the moment is not councillors and advisers. What I need now are friends that will tell me what they think instead of what they think I want to hear"

Knuckles sighed heavily at her words and placed his left hand on top of hers as they rested on the railings. "Sally, if I could wind black the clock and go back to that moment I was forced to board that shuttle then I would. If I had then known the amount of pain and suffering it would cause us both in our lives to come then I would have run away from it all and disappeared. But I didn't, neither of us did, and for the last twenty years we have both played the parts expected of us dutifully. Please believe me when I say this. I might not be able to back track the last twenty years but I'd like to start making them up to you if you would let me, starting now"

The queen replied softly, looking down at her feet. "I would like that".

He squeezed her had in his own slightly. The feel of the contact was something the queen was not used to. Knuckles persona suddenly shifted, anger clearly building inside him and his right hand gripped the railings so hard he bent the steel in his grasp. "I, Knuckles, the guardian of the floating island do swear that if the dark legion has decided to assist your enemies against you then I will rain hell and destruction upon them all the likes of which they have never known. I will destroy them and their allies"

"You would help?" she asked, anxiety and hope rising in equal measure.

"If they are helping to destroy your realm then they have made the grave mistake of turning the floating islands business into something I take much more personally. I might not have seen you for twenty years but you are my oldest friend, princess, and no one attacks my friends and walks away, not while I still draw an ounce of breath"

Sally simply remained silent. The importance of the words sinking in. "Thank you Knuckles" she finally whispered.

And just as quickly as it had started, his anger dissipated.

"I am led to believe you have a piece of legion equipment in your possession"

"It's a helmet, an ugly and horrible looking helmet. I had it mounted on a pedestal in the main corridor along with the other relics on display"

"I can feel its presence like a black stain on my mind. It's causing my senses to fire off warning signals"

"You can feel it?" she asked, confused.

"It's a very annoying side effect of the job but it occasionally has its uses. Having been at war with the legion for over two centuries we have developed a kind of 'sixth sense' so to speak when it comes to knowing that the legion are present. It has saved a guardians life on many occasions"

Sally was intrigued. "If it is causing you annoyance I will have it removed from the palace and destroyed"

"You will do no such thing!" Knuckles replied sharply. "You were wise not t get rid of it. I want you to show it to me"

"Now?" the queen asked, clearly surprised.

"Can you think of a better time?"

Sally pondered his words for a moment and then walked to the doors leading back into the ballroom. She beckoned to someone out of sight and then returned. It took around a minute for Ser Anthony and Ser Geoffrey to fight through the press of guests in the parlour and step out onto the balcony to join them.

"Your grace, guardian?" Ser Anthony asked "Is something wrong?"

"Nothing at all my friend. I will be taking the guardian to see the helmet we found and I require you take over as the host of the party until I return"

"Why can't this wait until the morning your highness?" Ser Geoffrey asked suspiciously.

"If I'm honest Geoffrey I could do with a walk to burn off the thousands of calories I have just consumed. And regardless, the guardian asked to see the helmet now. Is that a problem?"

Ser Geoffrey bowed slightly. "Not at all your grace, shall I accompany you?"

"I would be pleased if you did. I think if the guardian and I left at the same time rumours would circulate almost immediately"

"Indeed…"

"If it settles your suspicions then I will ask Jacob to come with us as well. That way both the queen and I have chaperones" Knuckles replied sarcastically.

"Excellent idea guardian" Sally added. "Ser Geoffrey, would you be so kind to locate the commander and tell him to meet us in the main corridor. We will wait for you there"

"As you wish your highness" Geoffrey complied. He turned and left to find Jacob as requested.

"Now that's all sorted" Knuckles exclaimed as he downed the rest of his champagne "let's go and see what you have that is setting my nerves on edge so badly"

"Follow me" the queen ordered as she stepped out into the crowd.

* * *

The main corridor was dark but it was of no consequence as Sally had walked the halls of the palace for so long that she could have led the group blindfolded. Before long they reached their destination and the item sat immobile on a pedestal directly in front of them.

As they approached the group stopped a good distance away. Even in the darkness of the corridor it appeared that the helmet seemed to leech away at all of the available nearby light, sucking it in and devouring it. Though it defied conventional logic the item actually seemed to generate an aura of fear.

"Well if there was any doubt at all, that puts it to rest" Jacob stated as he set eyes upon the helmet. "It's definitely legion and it looks like it belonged to some high ranking officer, possibly an archon or an adjutant"

"Your instincts server you well commander. It is legion, no doubt, I can feel it" Knuckles replied.

"I can't feel anything other than the cold" The queen shivered, rubbing her bare arms to warm them.

The guardian removed his heavy cloak and wrapped it around Sally's shoulders who was instantly grateful for his kindness. He then walked forward towards the helmet, taking off his gloves as he did so. "Jacob, Geoffrey, please put yourself between the queen and the helmet and I suggest all of you stay well back."

Once they had done what he requested, Knuckles reached out, closed his eyes and placed both of his bare hands on the very top of the helmet. He closed his eyes and concentrated.

"What is he doing?" Sally asked more than a little confused.

"Something that the other guardians don't like him doing"

"Why?"

"Partly because it's bloody dangerous and partly because they can't…"

The moment Knuckles skin touched the hate drenched helmet his mind began to wander. Slowly at first but rapidly picking up speed, images began to flash through his mind's eye. The helmets history was long and it had clearly been worn by many individuals over hundreds of years, every one of which had left behind individual trace energy and memories. Over the span of its life the helmet had assembled a vast depository of hazy blood soaked images, vile sounds and pungent smells locked deep within its molecular fabric. It was an effort to simply stay connected to the item as it seemed to sense his forceful intrusion and tried everything it could to repulse his efforts to access its hidden trove.

Knuckles focused and redoubled his efforts. There was no point in trying to mentally beat the helmet into submission as it was inanimate and using his will to bash through its defences was going to be as effective as trying to outstare a rock. He touched his mind lightly against the outskirts of its defences, probing them, trying to find a way in.

The helmet used images which it deemed to be unimportant against him now as it realised his intent, discarding them sacrificially in an attempt to throw his concentration. Knuckles ignored its efforts, trying to close his mind to the pictures flashing rapidly past him; his interest lied not in the early memories but in the most recent ones which might provide him some vague details or clues as to the legions intentions and strengths.

He fought against the dizzying kaleidoscope for what seemed like many stomach churning hours. Making progress through the sheer volume of insignificant media was mentally fatiguing him and all Knuckles could do was grit his teeth against the storm and carry on, forging a path through sheer determination.

Sally watched as her friend grunted and fell to his knees in front of the helmet, his hands seemingly glued to it. The guardians arms were shaking violently and the sound of his teeth grinding together was frightening her. "What is happening?" she gasped.

Jacob remained rooted to the floor, simply waiting. He looked non-plussed about the suffering guardian and didn't look like he was in a rush to do anything to help him.

"Help him Geoffrey!" Sally ordered.

Geoffrey was about to take a pace forward and intervene when Jacobs hand locked firmly onto his shoulder in a vice like grip. "Do not take another step ser, let the guardian whether the storm"

"Are you mad?" Geoffrey growled. "He's clearly in pain! Some kind of foul sorcery is hurting him!"

Jacob simply stared flatly at the skunk in response. "I said leave him. If you touch him you risk breaking the link and then he won't stand a chance of finishing what he has already started. Trust someone who has seen this before Geoffrey. Leave him alone."

"But he's in pain!" Sally shouted at Jacob.

"Yes he is" the commander replied. "But if there is one thing I have learnt about the guardian is that a little pain won't stop him. It just makes him more bull headed. He will win"

"Win against what?" Geoffrey asked, now extremely confused.

Knuckles grunted once again and all three watched on dumbfounded as he struggled back to his feet, his hands never once leaving the helmet. Although his arms had ceased to shake so violently he was still clearly connected in some subconscious way they couldn't understand. After a few heavy and deep breaths he leant forward and placed his forehead against the charred helmets faceplate.

'_You did well to resist me demon but you are not strong enough. Not nearly strong enough'_

A veil of pure darkness descended over Knuckles mind as he finally breached the helmets defences. In his thoughts, he could see himself standing in a long stone corridor confronted with a heavy and ancient looking wooden door which lay slightly ajar. Constantly scratching at the back of his mind he could identify the malignant presence of the helmet clutching weakly at him in a final attempt to stop him accessing it most precious memories. Knuckles forced his image to open the door and step through into the oppressively gloomy room beyond. The only light source came from a flickering black wax candle perched on a solid stone and blood stained table in the centre of the room. On the table lay numerous photos and pictures, discarded lazily and in no immediately obvious order. He walked over to them and picked up a handful, quickly scanning them for any signs of clues or information.

_"Take what you want guardian, the pictures in front of you will avail you nought. We will still kill all that is precious to you and destroy your spirit. You will be forced to watch on helplessly as your most precious stone is taken by another and I promise that you will never find peace. Yours is the way of pain and suffering and I will revel in the agony it causes you and your wretched family"_

Knuckles tried to ignore the spirits disgruntled words but it was harder said than done. Simply keeping his imaginary self in the helmets inner sanctum was taking its toll on his mental reserves and he was hard pressed to close his ears against its mad ravings. At first glance the pictures seemed to be nothing but a gruesome assortment of grisly and barbaric scenes, some showing dismembered bodies and fat bloated corpses; others captured the vivid burning buildings and snaking rivers of thick congealed blood. The paper they were printed on actually stank evil. Knuckles sieved through them quickly and but could ascertain nothing. Defeated and with nothing to show for his efforts he finally decided to break contact with the helmet and purge himself of its malignant touch which was slowly worming its way into his own mind.

He turned to leave the room but just as he was about to cross the threshold of the door and exit the nightmare he noticed a solitary picture which had fallen underneath the table and rested on the cold floor, it was covered in a thick layer of dust. He picked it up, brushed off what he could and peered down at it. At first glance the picture seemed to be just another disgusting image of carnage but when he concentrated he could faintly make out the outline of a blood stained map. The map was barely legible through the gore it was caked with but there was a number wrote down on one side of the map which sent a wave of joy through his tired and aching mind. The spirit screamed in anger at his revelation.

_"Damn you guardian, you and all you care for will burn! You will watch helpless as your heart is eaten and your blood boils!"_

"We will see…" Knuckles laughed mockingly as he left the room, clutching the picture tightly in his hands.

The guardian stumbled backward from the helmet as the snap return of mind to body brought on a sudden bout of vertigo which caused him to fall to his knees clutching his head. He wretched and heaved violently, bile and phlegm spraying from his mouth, coating the stone floor and his robes.

Sally burst past Jacob and Geoffrey before they could stop her and knelt in front of her friend. "Knuckles!" she shouted at him, clutching at his forearms. "Are you okay?"

He pushed her away, staggered to his feet and then shuffled painfully over to the nearest wall. Leaning against it, his eyes still firmly shut; he focused on his breathing in an attempt to regain control of his body after his long battle with the helmets spirit. "Rex, store the following numbers"

Knuckles personal AI bleeped as it powered on at his command. _"Ready to receive numbers guardian"_

He had to fight the nausea and try to calm his rapidly spinning mind in order to get a clear look at the picture he had stolen from the helmet. It was fading rapidly, the co-ordinates of the grid he had spotted were becoming unreadable and more out of desperation than skill he went with his gut instinct.

Geoffrey looked on stunned as the guardian started to speak out loud. When he had finished he repeated the numbers. "Zero Two Six Eight Nine Two?" He asked "What the hell is that supposed to be, some kind of code?"

"It sounds a lot like a grid reference" Jacob answered him.

"Indeed commander" Knuckles replied and opened his eyes painfully. He turned to Sally who was looking at him, worry etched into her eyes. "Your highness, I would suggest that you immediately search all of your maps and find any grid references which matches the number. Look for population centres or clusters of arms, armour and military targets of high value"

"Why?"

"Because if what I saw is true then it's a possible target. We need to get there before our enemies do"

"Our enemies' guardian?" Geoffrey interrupted.

Knuckles glanced at the skunk and then at Jacob who was standing as still as a statue, the commander's eyes never once leaving his own. Knuckles understood immediately that Jacob knew already what he was thinking.

He then turned to look at the queen and it suddenly dawned on him that the decision he was about to make had been inevitable since the moment he set eyes upon her again. Twenty years ago he had been forced to leave Sally to fend for herself against his will. He would not abandon her again in her hour of need, especially as this time the wolves she would have to face were very real and supported by his own sworn enemies.

"Commander Glaive"

"Guardian?" Jacob replied flatly.

"Give the command to the advance vanguard. Full deployment to Mobius. Authority code is Gamma Alpha One. Liaise with General Krauptman as to the logistics"

Jacob saluted. "As you command guardian" He then turned away, heading back towards the parlour to locate General Krauptman.

"Ser Geoffrey, you have a grid co-ordinate to identify" the queen added. "Get everyone you have available on the task and reallocate anyone else you think that you might need. Do as the guardian suggests and identify anything which might be a principal target and if you find anything have the general fortify it immediately with whatever troops we have available in reserve" Sally ordered her head of security.

Geoffrey bowed and was about to turn and leave when Sally stopped him. "Is there something more your highness?" he asked surprised.

"The evacuation of civilians is of the highest priority Geoffrey, please don't let any more innocents fall. The blood price of this war is already far too high"

Ser Geoffrey nodded and then disappeared down the corridor at a run.

"I don't know what happened a few minutes ago Knuckles but you scared the hell out of me" she stated angrily when Geoffrey had finally gone. "You could have warned me!"

She turned around to look at the guardian who was kneeling down in front of the helmet again, tracing the evil patterns of its face plate with a bare finger. He clearly wasn't listening to her.

"Knuckles, are you paying attention to me?"

A small smirk appeared on the guardian's lips indicating that he had indeed been listening after all. "Now that's the Sally I remember. You still don't like to be ignored do you?"

The queen scowled and then knelt down beside him, looking at the legion helmet over his shoulder. She wrapped the cloak around her shoulders a little tighter. "I find it incredibly rude" she stated in her defence.

"What you actually mean is that you like the sound of your own voice and like others to pay attention to you"

She punched his arm and then immediately regretted doing so when it hurt. "Don't speak to me like that!" she growled whilst shaking her fingers to clear the numbness.

He laughed. "I can speak to you how I want _princess_"

"The correct reply guardian was either your highness or your grace"

"Yes _princess_"

"Knuckles, you are as intolerable as you always were, I don't know why I ever looked forward to seeing you again"

"Likewise" Knuckles laughed as she bristled with anger.

Sally growled at him but wisely bit her tongue and left him to continue his inspection of the helmet. "What are you looking at?" she asked after a few minutes of getting bored sitting on the cold stone floor.

"I am trying to look for tell-tale signs to say which chapter of the legion this helmet belongs to, that way I can get a better idea of what were up against"

"Chapter, as in a chapter of a book?"

Knuckles stopped what he was doing and shook his head "Not quite. We don't know for sure but the brotherhood estimate the legions strength to be somewhere around ten thousand. We do know however that for logistical purposes it is then broken down into separate units, called chapters, of approximately one thousand. Each is led by a very experienced field commander called an archon. The chapters are self-sufficient, meaning that all of them are individually capable of waging a sustained campaign with limited assistance from other dark legion assets"

"Each chapter is an individual army?

"Correct, it's one of the main reasons they are so difficult to subdue. You cut off one head and you have nine more left to deal with"

"Clever, but why are you so bothered about who is helping the wolves, surely a legionnaire is just a legionnaire?"

"No" Knuckles replied. "As a legionnaire progressed through his or her career, they are moved from chapter to chapter as they gain experience. Robotic and cybernetic additions to limbs, organs and senses are such an integral part of the legion dogma that the older a legionnaire gets, the more 'upgrades' he or she will ultimately pick up. Eventually, and only if you are an exceptional soldier with a long and successful service history, you may be promoted to the ninth chapter. That's where all the veterans are and they get access to the very best equipment and weaponry. Some legionnaires receive so many upgrades throughout their career that they are more metal than flesh and become little more than programmable cyborgs"

"So what does the helmet tell you then?"

"A great deal"

Sally sat patiently waiting for him to continue. He didn't. "Well?"

"Each chapter has an individual emblem or icon which is modelled on a mythical creature; they stamp all of their own equipment with this emblem to identify it".

"So then, which chapter does this helmet belong to?"

Knuckles removed the item from its pedestal and handed it to the queen. "Take a look yourself"

Sally took the helmet from him and was initially surprised by it weight. She rotated it around in her hands, inspecting carefully all its individual pieces. "Is that a hydra?" she finally replied pointing to a small indentation on the very base of the helmets back piece.

"Yes, it is"

Sally passed the helmet back to him. "So which chapter is that?"

"The eighth chapter" he sighed.

"I take it that's not good?"

"Im not sure yet Sally but one thing I have always found is that when you find one legionnaire there tends to be a hell a lot more just around the corner"


	9. Chapter 8 Revelations

**Revelations**

The queen woke suddenly the next morning to the loud and powerful sound of humming engines. Instantly awake and eager to see what was going on, she dove out from under the heavy layers of duvets and ran over to her balcony which overlooked the main palatial grounds.

She ripped open the doors and staggered out into the freezing cold morning air, immediately blinded by the bright sunshine beaming down into her face. It took her a few moments to clear the sleep from her eyes but when she had did they showed her a sight which took her breath away.

The echidnas had arrived.

Her once pristine palace grounds were packed with ten of their jet black gunships. Each of the aircraft was clearly armed to the teeth with underslung missile pods and lethal looking multi barrel cannons. The massive pivoting engines used to power the aircraft had churned up the grass and destroyed flower beds which she had picked sweet roses from since a child. The destructiveness of it all would have made her cry if she hadn't felt so elated at the sight of the birds of war and the hundreds of echidna infantry milling around them.

"Your grace, the guardian asked me to request your presence in the war room after you break your fast" Tiffany, one of her handmaidens said as she curtsied politely.

Sally was taken by surprise as the girl spoke but rallied well. "Did he now…" she grinned. "Tell me Tiffany, do you not find them beautiful?" she asked the handmaiden, and pointed out of the window at the gunships.

The girl followed her queen's line of sight and tried to look impressed. It failed. "Yes your grace, very…um…"

"You are such a terrible liar Tiffany, but I don't blame you for thinking them hideous, after all, they do look very menacing. It is what they represent that is beautiful, not the machines themselves"

Tiffany nodded, clearly not understanding her queen but not wanting to seem dense. Sally decided to throw her a bone. "Their presence means that we are no longer alone in this war child. We have friends now and my what friends they are"

The girl simply smiled prettily and for a moment Sally wondered what level of intelligence she had surrounded herself with. "What time is it?" she asked Tiffany whilst stifling a little yawn.

"A little later than nine o'clock in the morning my queen. Does your grace require breakfast in her parlour this morning?"

Sally looked out of the windows once more and curiosity immediately got the better of her. She had always been fascinated with electronics, computers and mechanical equipment and if you wanted to surround yourself with the very pinnacle of tech development you had to speak to the echidnas. The lure of so much hardware sitting on her lawn was simply too great to resist and she wanted some of it. "No Tiffany, please find Bunny Rabbot and prepare just a very casual outfit for me. Nothing fancy. I think my black riding trousers, favourite blue knee length boots, a cream coloured blouse and my blue sleeveless jacket should do fine"

"As you wish your grace". The girl turned and was about to leave when Sally stopped her. "Tiffany, whilst you are looking for Bunny, can you please also locate commander Glaive for me?"

The girl looked blankly at her.

"The tall echidna, black fur, stern looking; he arrived yesterday with the guardian?"

Understanding dawned on Tiffany's face like a gear suddenly falling into place. "The commander is currently with the other echidna's at the aircraft your grace. I remember him telling Ser Geoffrey that he is organising their arrival"

"Very well Tiffany, carry on" Sally shook her head as the young thing ran off to her errands.

Sally picked up Nicole from the side of her bed looked back out of the window at the sinister aircraft. Now all that was left to do was have a relaxing bath, get changed and go poke her nose into places it didn't necessarily belong.

She was almost giddy with anticipation.

* * *

"Good of you to finally join us" Geoffrey seethed under his breath as the guardian walked into the war council fifteen minutes late.

Knuckles simply ignored him and patted his forehead with a towel he had wrapped over his shoulders. "What do we know?" he asked the room in general. "Did you get a match on any possible co-ordinates?"

"We have made a list of all possible combinations using the six figures you provided and then matched them against all maps that we have. There are only three instances where the grid references provide anything of value and even then the match is sketchy at best" the head of security replied.

Knuckles walked slowly over to the main table at the centre of the Acornian command room. All around the table stood the cream of the Acorn military and intelligence gathering organisations. The large, solid oak table was strewn with maps, half eaten high energy bars and coffee cups and it was clear that the staff had indeed worked through the night as the queen has commanded. "Very well, show me what you have"

Geoffrey nodded to an orderly who quickly appeared with three maps. He placed them flat in front of the guardian, side by side and then retreated.

Knuckles took a moment to study the contents of the large red circles drawn on the maps. The first contained a small village of no more than a few houses, the second a disused quarry and the third a small range of mountains in the north of the realm. Nothing immediately indicated a target of value that the dark legion would attack. "Have you deployed scout teams to check these possible targets?" he asked, tracing a hand over the maps.

"Not as yet guardian" Krauptman replied. "We wanted to know what you thought first"

Knuckles glared at the general for a few moments and then sighed. "General Krauptman please remember that your men are _your_ men and deploy them as you see fit. All echidna assets are under the express command of commander Glaive and you should liaise with him as to the way we will combine for best effect. If we are going to persecute a war in harmony, I need to know that you will still act on your own initiative without waiting for me to sanction absolutely every action. Now, may I _suggest_ that you deploy three squads immediately to scout these locations? We need to know anything which might indicate them as targets"

"Very well…" Krauptman replied and turned to a nearby adjutant. "Contact major Sinclair and have him scout these locations with the fastest units he has available"

The adjutant saluted smartly. "Yes sir!" he replied and disappeared out of the main exit to pass on the message.

"You say that you have checked all of the maps you have?"

"All of them guardian" a young badger with thick glasses who was clearly one of the intellectuals on the command staff replied.

Knuckles rolled his shoulders. His neck clicked loudly. "Damn. Looks like there is nothing else for it than to speak to my ancestors. Open a link to Haven if you will"

Another one of the staff tapped a few buttons. "Link open in five seconds guardian"

Knuckles nodded and waited patiently for the large display in the command room to hum into life. After what seemed like an age, the screen whined into activity, displaying a rather serious looking Sabre.

"Guardian" Knuckles stated matter of factly.

"Guardian" Sabre replied, clearly somewhat vexed.

"We need assistance identifying some numbers I managed to get my hands on. I think they are a grid reference but the queens staff have checked against all of their maps with limited success. We need to check against all maps that Haven stores and I need Detori to process it as fast as he can"

"I heard about your little investigation guardian. Did you not listen when I told you to stop mind probing legion equipment?" Sabre shifted in his seat and rubbed his stubbled chin. "Its bloody dangerous and can drive you mad. But no, you wouldn't have listened would you? You never have and never will I suppose"

Knuckles stood still, smiling as his grandfather let off some steam. "Finished have we old man?"

Sabre scowled. "If it was a legion map you saw, which I suspect it was, Detori will not be able to help you"

"Regardless, I need him to process the numbers"

Sabre grunted and tapped a few buttons off screen. "Very well, go ahead"

"Zero two six eight nine two"

"_Numbers received guardian" _Detori replied. "_However to cross reference all maps with the list of numbers in all possible permutations will take some time, approximately sixty three minutes with ninety nine percent accuracy"_

"Get on it Detori""

"Is that all?" Sabre asked.

"For now grandfather but if Detori finds anything, contact me immediately"

"As you wish guardian" Sabre replied gruffly and closed the link.

Ser Geoffrey shifted inside his dress jacket uncomfortably. "Well that went well, family problems guardian?"

Knuckles smiled at the general's statement. "Always…"

* * *

"Her royal self approaches" Drake whispered to Jacob who was sat beside him, eating a bowl of cereal topped with chopped fruit. "Best look lively".

"Is there room for a few more?" Sally asked politely as she approached the breakfasting soldiers, Bunny in tow.

"Allow me your highness" a gruff sergeant answered. He stood up and looked down the breakfasting table to a gaggle of his own men. "Two platoon, get your asses moving, I want the gunship fully unloaded in five minutes"

The troopers literally jumped and with much cursing they ran in the direction of their gunship, some still clutching pieces of half eaten toast and bowls of cereal. The sergeant clearly realised his manners too late and bowed slightly to the queen. "Please accept my apologies for swearing your grace, old habits and all that"

Sally waved him off. "Don't be silly sergeant" she replied, picking out the soldiers rank from his chevrons. "And thank you for making some space for me"

"My pleasure" the sergeant replied.

"Commander" Sally stated as she sat down on the wooden bench opposite Jacob.

"Your grace" he replied, continuing to munch on his cereal. "Can I offer you some breakfast? It is nothing to write home about, mainly just standard military rations, however the coffee isn't too bad as long as you hold your nose whilst drinking and the cereal goes down relatively well if you leave it to soak in powdered milk for around an hour"

"Sounds appetising" she replied. "And where do I go to get myself some of this delicious cuisine?"

"Drake, be a good man and show the queens handmaiden where to get some breakfast" Jacob ordered..

Drake didn't reply and when Jacob looked at him, his gaze was distant. The commander followed it and wasn't at all surprised to see it fixed on the queens handmaiden, or most specifically, her posterior.

"Drake!" he growled. "Wind your neck in and go and show the queen's maid where to get some breakfast"

"Righto!" Drake grinned and promptly left, taking Bunny's wrist gently and guiding her in the direction of the mobile canteen that had been set up near a support ship.

"Oh dear. I know his type too well commander and for some reason my maid is attracted to them. I will keep a sharp eye on her don't you worry" Sally chuckled.

He simply nodded solemnly and continued to eat his breakfast. After a few moments he pushed his cup of cooling coffee towards the queen. "Try some your grace"

She did. It was bloody awful and it took all of her self-control not to wretch. "Delightful!" she gasped.

"Your politeness does you great justice but I fear you are lying. The only two things this coffee is good for is stripping grease from engine blocks and killing brain cells" Jacob replied flatly.

Sally coughed, trying to clear her throat of the dark, potent, treacle thickness coffee. "Do you always take meals with your soldiers?" she asked after managing to regain her ability to talk.

"As much as possible. In the legion we were forced to dine together regardless of rank. It was thought that by doing so it would assist in breaking down social barriers and prevent any unhelpful clique's appearing"

"You were part of the legion?" Sally gasped "The dark legion?"

"Ah, I see that part of my history wasn't explained to you"

"No, it wasn't…"

Sally was just about to continue her questioning when Bunny destroyed the moment by placing a steaming mug of jet black coffee and a plate of what could only remotely referred to as breakfast in front of her.

"You should be honoured your highness. Our beloved caterers have seen fit to bestow upon you our finest travelling ration. What you have there appears to be three genuine meat sausages, a well cooked egg, and dare I say it out loud, freeze dried tomatoes"

Sally stared blankly at the food and then back at Jacob. She quickly got the impression that the commander didn't play poker because he found it far too easy to bluff his opponents. You would find more sign of emotion in a stone.

"Tuck in" Drake interrupted whilst taking a long and drawn out gulp of his own coffee.

Sally and Bunny, hesitantly, both began eating and were pleasantly surprised to find that despite looking completely inedible the food was relatively wholesome and filling.

"So, to what honour do we owe this visit?" Drake enquired as he watched the pair.

"Though I am not accustomed to having to provide an explanation of where I travel _in my own palatial grounds_ sergeant, I will humour you just this once. If you must know, I wanted to see with my own eyes exactly what help the guardians have agreed to provide." Her eyes shifted from Drake to the guardian's personal gunship which sat on its own, a good distance from the others. "Call it a hobby if you will, but I have always been fascinated with technology of any kind since I was a girl"

"So, you want to take a look around the guardians gunship?" Drake summarised.

"Correct"

"I am sorry your grace but to allow that, I will need his express permission"

Sally stared deep into Jacob's eyes. It was like looking into an abyss. "Very well commander, where is the guardian now?"

"At the war council and if you will please excuse me your highness I need to prepare a few things before I also attend"

Drake watched with a conspiratorial smile as Jacob stood up, bowed casually to the queen and walked away towards a group of troops. "So you want to take a look in the bird then?" he whispered when the commander was well out of earshot.

Sally turned to face him. "I would love to. It's just a shame that I can't. I would sorely like to see what is inside that aircraft as we don't have anything like the technology that the your race possess. It would be enlightening to see some of it with my own eyes"

Drake appeared to consider for a few moments. "I can show you"

"You?"

"Sure, why not, there are only a few with the clearance to go anywhere near the guardian's personal gunship and I happen to be one of them. I will show you if you want"

Sally frowned.

"What is in it for you?" Bunny asked, before the queen could say anything.

"Nothing but the admiration of a monarch. I promise"

The queen took one look at the jet black and sinister looking aircraft and then at Drake's rugged face. Even though every fibre of her being told her that she shouldn't agree to his offer, it was highly unlikely she would get a better chance. "Deal" she replied, holding out her right hand.

To Sally's surprise instead of shaking her hand he kissed it gently, stubble tickling her skin. "We best get moving your grace or we will miss our window of opportunity"

"Why do I feel like I have made a deal with the devil" Sally whispered to Bunny as she stood up to follow him.

"I think that is because you just have" Bunny replied quietly

* * *

"What now then, is there anything else we can do till your computer checks the numbers?" Geoffrey asked the guardian.

Krauptman interrupted. "I for one need to take a shower and eat"

It was only when the general mentioned his own personal hygiene that Knuckles noticed everyone in the room was still wearing the dress clothes and uniforms they had been wearing at the reception the night before. "I would seriously suggest that you take a shower and eat some breakfast gentleman; there is nothing else we can do here for now"

The assembled officers and personnel muttered their agreement and thanks before taking their leave. Just as they were exiting, Jacob entered the command room and waved at Knuckles in greeting to get his attention.

"Ah commander, what is our current strength?" Knuckles asked.

Jacob walked around the table and took a tablet out of a pocket in his jacket. When the machine had booted, he tapped a few buttons and studied the screen before replying. "So far we have an advanced force of ten platoons of drop troops backed up by ten gunships and one command squad. In terms of heavy armour and support we have three light tanks and four squads of heavy weapons"

Knuckles nodded slowly, impressed. "One might ask how you managed to organise all of those troops in only a few hours commander"

Jacob grinned. "One might guess that I already had them prepared"

"You dared to presume I would issue a drop order?"

"I did, and I clearly presumed right"

Knuckles smiled and patted his friend on the shoulder. "Good man" he laughed.

* * *

The morning air was cool but moist and a thick low mist hugged the ground like a blanket. Bird song sang in the trees, crickets and insects called out loudly from the dew covered undergrowth and the sun was beginning to rise lazily on the horizon in the east. It was a perfectly beautiful morning.

Morgentha observed the active Mobian base from her perch in a large oak tree overlooking its southern line of perimeter fencing. A recent trumpet call had sounded across the loud speakers and now there was a never ending line of hundreds of personnel heading in the direction of a large parade ground in the east of the base. It appeared that they were attending some kind of ceremony or meeting as when they arrived at the parade ground some senior officers began organised the troops into blocks.

Morgentha bit her lip. It was simply too good to be true. Before the call had sounded, there were only two possible ingress routes past the guard towers and regular patrols and even then they were extremely risky and did not account for any chance encounters with random troopers.

Now though, there were dozens of ways in and she was simply spoilt for choice. Much to her chagrin however, she was forced to choose caution over fun until she had managed to get inside the base. If she was spotted because of blood lust, the whole facility would go berserk and she would be forced to cut her way in. As much as this did initially appeal to her she knew that this course of action could ultimately end in failure and that simply could not be considered.

Directly opposite her location, a solitary guard rubbed his eyes in a tall wooden guard tower. He was far from awake having recently only taken over his watch from another guard who was walking away back to main control centre. She had watched the exchange with interest and by her calculations, the distance from the oak trees highest branch to the guard tower was around twenty metres, easily within range of her maximum running leap.

She climbed to the top of the tree carefully like a snake to make sure that she didn't disturb any of the smaller branches which might shake and give away her position. When she reached the top of the tree, still shrouded in the leaves, Morgentha took one last look around for any observers and when satisfied the coast was clear and that the guard was facing in the opposite direction, she sprinted up the thick branch and leapt.

The flight took only a few seconds but you can achieve a lot in that time if you know how to use it.

Half way through the leap, Morgentha reversed her direction so she would land feet first and in one fluid motion, she drew her heavily silenced firearm, took aim and fired a single shot which penetrated the guard's neck and severed his spinal column. The guard, a young rabbit, was dead before his body even crunched to the ground. Morgentha landed silently next to him in a crouch, smoking pistol still help upright in her right hand. She waited.

Nothing.

Morgentha replaced her pistol in its holster and dragged the body behind one of the wooden guard towers walls, away from sight. The guard had only just changed so even if for some reason they staggered the rota at hourly intervals she had plenty of time before anyone noticed he had expired and raised the alarm.

She dropped down from the guard tower and hid for a moment behind a low concrete wall which surrounded the structure. The distance to the command centre building was three hundred metres and the only cover in between her and the target were a few parked vehicles the nearest of which was still one hundred and thirty metres away. If there was any part of the infiltration where she was likely to be seen, this was it.

Morgentha took a few deep, preparatory breaths and burst from cover with the speed of bullet. She pushed the accelerators in her thighs and knees to maximum power and the world around her seemed to blur as she picked up speed. The parked transport vehicle, a half tracked flatbed was fast approaching so she checked her speed to avoid simply colliding with it. Kneeling behind a large rubber tyre she quickly checked her vital signs in her retinal display and wasn't surprised to find that the one hundred and thirty metres she had just covered had taken five seconds. Her primary heart was also pumping oxygen rich blood around her body like a supercharged engine and she felt more alive than she could remember feeling in a very long time.

Another quick glance over the top of the flatbed confirmed that she hadn't been noticed so she immediately boosted to the second and third vehicles in quick succession without further pause.

The final vehicle put her within fifty metres of the command building and she now checked for any possible entrance routes that would bypass the main corridors. Half way up the red brick side of the wall, approximately fifteen metres up, she could see a ventilation shaft spitting out warm air which rapidly condensed into a mist as it hit the cool morning air outside. Whilst not perfect, the ventilation shaft would have to suffice.

She sprinted to the wall, looked up, crouched and then jumped. Even with her bionic modifications, the fifteen metres was a stretch and she only just made it. She frantically grabbed the outside of the steel ventilation shaft, took a long gulp of fresh air which was likely to be her last for some time and plunged into the dark confines beyond.

* * *

Pistons hissing, the large rear access ramp to the guardians personal gunship slowly opened and to Sally, who watched on with baited breath, the wait was painful. Though the morning was bright if not just a little overcast, the interior of the vehicle was pitch black and it was only when the ramp had completely dropped open did any of the daylight manage to light up the inside so it became semi visible.

Drake stepped onto the ramp and hit the light switch. Immediately all of the onboard equipment that adorned the aircrafts hull sprang into life and began booting up from idle. Lights of all colours flashed, various beeps and tones communicated their readiness and seconds later a hologram of a middle aged echidnas head suddenly appeared hovering over a projector display, directly in front of them. It appeared to immediately recognise Drake and it was clear by the look on its artificial face that it had been expecting someone else entirely and that his presence was most unwelcome. _"Oh, its you"_ the hologram stated flatly.

"Shut your face Rex" Drake snapped back. "There is nothing to worry about here; I am just giving the queen and her lady in waiting a guided tour. Go back to your digital pit and stay there"

_"And I suppose the guardian knows, does he?" _Rex replied, ignoring Drakes insult.

"He doesn't have to. Besides, why are you here anyway? Why arent you with Knuckles?"

_"I can be in multiple places at once scoundrel. I mean the queen no disrespect but only he has the required authority to let non registered individuals board his vehicle."_

"Don't be a stiff Rex. Im bringing them aboard and there is nothing you can do to stop me" Drake replied. He beckoned Sally and Bunny forward. "Come on ladies, don't worry, Rex won't bite"

Suddenly one of the gun pods on the left wing dropped down from its interior housing, span one hundred and eighty degrees and came to rest pointing directly at Drakes chest in a hiss of servos. _"I beg to differ"_ the AI growled as the six barrels started to rotate slowly, preparing to fire.

Sally intervened before the AI turned Drake into little more than paste. "I am sorry if we are intruding Rex and your dedication does you credit, we will go no further" she made to turn around and step off the ramp but before she could, her own personal computer, Nicole, activated under her own initiative. _"So I see that it is not just the race that is arrogant and obnoxious, but also their technology as well…how droll…how predictable…"_

Rex seemed suddenly taken aback. _"What is this piece of junk that talks to me?"_ he inquired.

Sally gingerly removed the tablet out of her trouser pocket, opened it and then placed it on the floor of the boarding ramp. "Rex, this is Nicole, my own personal assistant AI and a very old friend"

After a few seconds, a holographic projection of a female Lynx appeared above the tablet. Even though the hologram was much smaller and far less defined than Rex, she somehow managed to display a scale of anger that was much greater than her actual size. _"So I suppose you think you are the top dog don't you?"_ Nicole growled at him. _"I bet you believe that you are the very cutting edge of advancement, the apex of programming code? It is a pity that no matter how great you actually are, you still don't know how to speak to a lady. Pathetic little program…"_

"_I am at the pinnacle of the AI spectrum, surpassed only in power by Detori which operates from Haven. I do not take kindly to being insulted by a relic which is at least thirty years out of date and is in serious need of being upgraded or, preferably, deleted"_ as if to reinforce his point, Rex span the gun pod to target the tablet instead. _"Your existence is an insult to technology and it would only be a mercy to end your misery"_

"Whoa!" Drake gasped stepping between the gun and Nicole. He held up his hands to try and placate the AI. "Dude, for Edmunds sake put the hardware away and lighten up, who do you think we are? legion?"

Nicole clicked a holographic finger which caused the gun pod to spin around and returned back to its internal bay. _"Thirty years out of date I may be you arrogant bastard but I can still teach you a thing or two"_

The look on Rex's holographic face became murderous as he realised Nicole had breached his firewalls and defences. _"How dare you manipulate my source code!"_

Sally was in shock as she watched the argument. It was the first time she had heard Nicole swear. "Nicole!" she gasped.

"_Don't worry about me Sally; I will deal with this pompous and self-inflated digital prick!"_

"_Wench!"_ Rex bawled back as she insulted him.

Drake grabbed Sally and Bunny by the hands and pulled them aboard before Rex could recover enough to know he was being distracted. "Take a look around ladies" he gestured.

Sally obliged. Inside the gunship was much larger than she had first thought. The loading bay in which she stood could easily accommodate twenty individuals and the banks of computers which hugged the left and right side of the aircraft looked very advanced. She ran her hand over the keyboards and monitors, tracing their outlines and lightly tapping the keys. She had no idea what any of it actually did but just the proximity of the advanced equipment was sending shockwaves down her spine.

"Check this out Sal!" Bunny exclaimed.

Sally turned to see Bunny holding a futuristic looking rifle in her arms. "Bunny, put it down, it's dangerous"

Her handmaiden ignored her and lifted it up to her shoulder to look through the weapons sight out the back of the gunship. She scanned with it back and forth "seriously, this is pretty awesome Sally, you should take a look!" she continued to pan the weapon until it hovered over Drakes chest.

"Don't point it at me!" Drake suddenly growled and snatched the assault rifle from her. "Especially when it's bloody mine!"

"Sorry!" she replied apologetically. "It was an accident... I didn't mean to…"

Drake ignored her and replaced his rifle in its stowage rack. "Only ever point a firearm at something you intend to destroy. I have seen too many good soldiers taken out by stupid blue on blue _accidents_" he reinforced the last word to drive it home.

Sally let the reprimand slide; unfortunately her friend had deserved it. "What is down there?" she asked whilst nodding to the front of the gunship.

"Pilots cockpit, weapon controls, on board armoury, stowage and Knuckles personal cabin"

"What does he have in his personal cabin?" she asked.

"Now that is where I draw the line your highness" Drake smiled and crossed his arms across his chest.

"Can I at least take a look at the cockpit?"

"Be my guest"

Sally walked down the rear bay towards the front of the aircraft and the cockpit. When she reached the entrance door she took a deep breath then opened it gingerly.

* * *

Knuckles peered again at the maps on the table and pulled up a chair. Nearby were two semi eaten energy bars so he finished them off as he pondered the various circles and data the queens command staff had identified. Something didn't add up.

"How did they give grid references in the legion?" he asked Jacob who was also pondering some maps on the other side of the table.

"Depends on the scale of the map but normally in six figures"

Knuckles tapped a finger on the table near one of the circles. Doubt was starting to creep into his mind that he had in fact misinterpreted the figures he had seen.

"What if it wasn't a grid reference?" he said out loud.

Jacob shook his head. "I don't see what else if could be" he added. "The numbers don't really mean anything unless they are a reference of some kind"

"How did you identify targets if you had more than one?"

Jacob appeared to think for a moment. "Normally we designated each target a code for ease of reference. It could be anything from a number or even a name it if was a person or a place"

Knuckles tapped the table again a few times before replying. "How many attacks have you suffered from the legion so far?" he asked one of the officers.

"Only the one so far that we know of guardian" the fox replied.

"What if the first two numbers, zero two, are just a sequential tally for the number of attacks? That would mean this reference could refer to a second…"

Jacob leant back in his seat and thought about the suggestion. "Possibly" he agreed. "I would never personally have used a sequential number myself but other chapters might have been using the process or adopted it since. I don't know"

"Okay, let's work with this then" Knuckles stated. "If zero two is the second attack, what does the six eight nine two refer to? What could that possibly indicate?"

"Western base? The fox interrupted "Their internal identifier is sixty eight, ninety two. But how would the legion know that?"

Knuckles looked at him for a moment, completely lost for words. "What is this instillation?" he asked, already feeling like they were on to something concrete.

"It is the largest of our garrisons on the western border guardian. Sixty eight, ninety two is the internal communications call sign for the base. However, an attack would be ridiculous! It is manned with hundreds of our troops"

Jacob interrupted. "With all due respect captain, the legion has individuals who would make a mockery of such numbers. Tell me, what is there of value at this location?

The fox shook his head. "I don't think there is anything there commander. It is just a staging post for troops to be allocated out further."

Jacob sat back in his chair, defeated.

"Unless they wanted to cut off power to the western defence grid by sabotaging the power arrays it houses?" another officer suddenly added as if his piece of information was nothing. "I used to work there on the technical staff and I always thought it was stupid how the system works in a circuit so that when one link is cut the rest drop for a period of time until the backups can be activated"

"So the consequences of cutting the power would be…?" Jacob asked.

"Total loss of power to all western perimeter stations and defence batteries, specifically air defence batteries and long range ordnance for approximately ten minutes"

Jacob turned to face Knuckles. They locked eyes and both reached the same conclusion at the same time.

"You can fly a lot of aircraft over a border in ten minutes" the guardian exclaimed.

"You can walk and drive a lot of troops across a border in that time as well" Jacob added.

"Captain, contact the installation and lock it down right now. Tell them to expect an immediate attack, specifically from one individual or a small raiding party" Knuckles ordered, springing to his feet and sending a cup of coffee spilling across the maps. "And you also need to scramble your communications, the legion have hacked your codes"

The captain suddenly burst into life and began dialling the base. Other officers and staff bolted in different directions to alert the rest of the command team.

"I will get the troops in the air" Jacob said, almost jumping out of his seat.

Knuckles tapped a button on Rex which immediately sent a warning alarm out to Drake and his pilot telling them to get to the gunship and get it airborne with all possible haste. "I will see you on the ground!" he shouted in reply as he grabbed a map of the target from the table and ran out of the command room.


	10. Chapter 9 Stowaways

**Stowaways**

The staging area was buzzing with activity as the seventh chapter prepared for combat. Archon Kolthar Vor stood atop a boulder with his command squad, overlooking the area, and watched on as hundreds of his men went through final combat routines and mentally prepared themselves for what lay ahead. It looked to him like a sea of black ghosts floating from place to place. Lined up in neat rows, fifty viper gunships lay waiting for their complements and directly behind them, a dozen LGT troop transports patiently stood idle. It was organisation personified. Methodical, mechanical and purposeful. It was beautiful.

The wolves on the other hand were a completely different story. Only a small percentage of the wolvine kingdoms fighting strength had been assembled for this mission and their king had given command of the hoard to one of his most trusted lieutenants. The shaggy, unkempt and repulsive barbarians had gathered into throngs nearby and far too close for Kolthar's liking. He estimated their strength to be nearly two thousand but as they kept moving around and had no structure that he could determine it was impossible to be sure. He likened it to counting ants and he sorely wished that he had the permission to crush them under the heel of his boot.

"I can't believe we are going to despoil our blessed transports with these…these…beasts" his radio operator, a veteran named Janus, spat. "They will probably shit and piss everywhere on route to the target. Filthy creatures"

"They probably have more diseases than a two mobium hoar" Lathor, the command team's demolitions expert, added.

"Hush your mouths" Kolthar growled. "The grandmaster has chosen our path and to question his choice is to question him personally. You will pay for it with your lives if you utter another word in disrespect"

They bowed, silenced by his threat.

He might have berated them, but Kolthar shared their thoughts. It was bad enough having to co-operate with such low forms of life but the idea of his men sharing transport space with them was repulsive. The wolves stank. They stank of dirt, stale sweat, dried blood and piss and shit, just as Janus had correctly pointed out. Talking to one alone was not so much of a hardship, but as they always moved in groups, or packs as they liked to call themselves, the combined stench they generated was overwhelming and he had already come to the decision that it was probably more effective than most of biological weapons in the legion arsenal. Still, there was no going back now, the plan had been set in motion and the wolves played an important, if not short, role in it. They needed the creatures at least for the moment.

"With me" Kolthar ordered as he jumped down from the boulder and began walking in the direction of the milling wolves. His command squad followed closely behind and as he passed squads of legion infantry, they stopped and saluted him, clenched hands slamming across their breastplates loudly. He paid them no heed. Before the day was done, some, or many, would be dead.

The wolves had clearly seen him approaching and the throng parted to create a tunnel of flesh front of him. He led his command squad through the lines of wolves, some of whom stupidly decided to mock the legionnaires, towards a massive figure that towered above the others present. When they finally made it to within ten metres of their target, the crowd simply ceased as around the solitary giant the wolves had created an unhindered perimeter of open space. Whether this was by design or by default Kolthar did not know, or care. His only concern at the present was conversing with the wolves' leader, Thrax.

Thrax was massive. There was no other way to describe him. Large, even for a race such as the wolves, he was easily twice the size of the archon who was himself well-built Covered head to toes in a blood red plate armour which was richly adorned with skulls, teeth and bones fixed in place with brass nails; he was a fearsome sight to behold. Attached to a thick belt of fur, which Kolthar had heard was supposedly made of the sheared remains of challengers to his alpha male status, dangled two heavily dented and blood-stained scimitars of crude design. Thrax sat leaning against a large boulder whilst picking his teeth with what looked very much like a splinter of bone. He seemed completely unfazed, if not a little amused, as Kolthar approached.

"Ekidna'" Thrax exclaimed when Kolthar had approached as close as his nose would allow him. It was painfully apparent that whilst also being a massive specimen of his species the lieutenant's pungency had grown in concert as well. "Thrax is waiting and growing impatient for the promised fight"

"You will have your fight soon enough" Kolthar replied flatly. "Get your wolves to start boarding the transports. It is time"

Thrax simply smiled at him and casually threw the piece of bone he had been using as a toothpick at the Archon. It bounced off the legionnaire commander's chest plate with a 'ping' before it fell to the dusty floor.

Kolthar ground his teeth.

"Thrax is not ekidna' lapdog" the wolf growled as he stood up from his makeshift seat and flexed his shoulder muscles. "But Thrax would rather kill the pathetic Acornians than fight with you, so for now, Thrax will do as you say…

"Good" Kolthar replied. "You have twenty minutes or we will leave without you". He turned his back on Thrax and began to walk away with his command squad close behind. As they paced towards the throng again a new tunnel was created for them but before they could reach the start of it one particularly stupid wolf decided to personally insult the Archon. "Once we have feasted on the Acorn women and children, we will eat your heart" he growled.

Kolthar drew his pistol and shot the fool through the right eye. The wolf's head exploded, showering those directly behind with bits of fur, bone, blood and only a small amount of brain matter. "Fuck you…" he seethed.

As soon as the shots rapport had disappeared everything fell silent. Every single one of the command squad cocked their weapons and flicked off their safety catches expecting immediate and incredibly violent bloodshed.

Thrax laughed. Slowly at first but quickly building up in volume until it reached a deafening crescendo. "Thrax like you ekidna'" he snorted. "You have balls". The other wolves began to laugh as well though it was clear that they only did so to stay in favour with their leader and not because they found him funny.

Kolthar replaced his sidearm and simply continued walking. As he stepped over the dead wolfs body he spat on it.

Unsurprisingly, the throng remained silent until well after the legionnaires had exited their midst and when they were almost halfway back to their own troops, Kolthar tapped a button on his wrist computer to open up a link to his adjutant who was still organising the troop loading.

"My lord, I heard a gunshot, I trust you are well?" Halkon asked.

"Indeed Halkon, just a slight diplomatic misunderstanding. However, I have a new immediate addition to the mission orders"

"Very well Archon"

"I want you to take control of the wolves as they load the transports. After this mission is complete any of our allies that survive the assault should not, as it were, survive. Do you understand…"

"Perfectly Archon. No survivors. I will disseminate this new parameter to the squad commanders immediately"

"Good. You have twenty minutes. The vermin are on their way as we speak…" he closed the link and changed direction towards his own transport which was already hovering slightly off the ground. However, before he and his squad boarded the aircraft he rounded on Janus and Lathor, succeeding in startling them both. "As you seem to like the prospect of travelling with the wolves so much, go and find Halkon and assist him with his task"

To their credit they only hesitated for the briefest of seconds before saluting and leaving to find the adjutant as ordered.

"The rest of you, get aboard and get ready" Kolthar growled at the three remaining squad members. "We are on a deadline"

* * *

As the door slid away, Sally was met with an absolute deluge of information. The relatively cramped cockpit featured a comfortable looking flight seat complete with a pilot's helmet and dozens of head up displays detailing everything from damage reports, system diagnostic checks, ordnance and ammunition supply reports and navigational charts. Out of the large windows, she could see some of the other gunships in the distance, their disembarked echidna troops milling around checking equipment and weapons.

"Wow…" Bunny and Sally gasped in unison.

"Yeah, it's something isn't it?" Drake added. "I have no idea how it all works to tell you the truth, but Finn does obviously"

"Finn?"

"The pilot" Drake replied. "Top notch bloke, good drinking partner, practical joker and bonified ladies' man. But, most importantly, the best pilot you will find anywhere"

"I would like to meet him" Sally stated, her eyes not leaving the myriad of control panels. "It would be enlightening to see how this all works"

Suddenly a light started to flash on the gunships main dashboard, followed up a millisecond later by a flashing light on Drakes left gauntlet. A commotion outside of the aircraft made the echidna snap his attention round and out of the back of the gunship. In the distance he could just make out a figure exiting another aircraft then start running flat out in his direction. Something was clearly going on and when he recognised the figures face he sighed.

"Well, it appears to be your lucky day your highness because it looks like you might get your request sooner than you thought."

* * *

In hindsight the ventilation shaft was a poor idea and Morgentha berated herself almost immediately after scrambling through the vent. The first thing that hit her was the acrid stench of recycled air and sweat. The second thing was the heat and despite being accustomed to such difficulties and hardships she still had to call upon a reserve of determination to continue on her course.

She couldn't go back now and risk being seen again. There was simply no other option available than to dig deep and soldier on.

The ventilation shaft was cramped but then she wasn't exactly a large individual and with a lot of perseverance and dexterity she managed to move at quite a pace. The main thing she was concerned about was the sound she made as she moved and this slowed her progress considerably. She soon noticed that the thin metal sheets of the shaft had a habit of creaking on their own accord so she used that to mask her movements when possible.

Still, she estimated it had taken her nearly twenty minutes before she reached her first real key decision. Directly ahead of her the vent peeled off into two directions but a few feet along the right passage she could see a grille which clearly dropped down into a dark room below. Mainly just to get out the cramped confines of the metal maze she decided to choose the grille and take a better look at what lay underneath her.

From all of the bright monitors and life feed camera's which covered one of the walls she judged that the room must be some kind of security centre. Its only inhabitant appeared to be a young badger that was sitting in a high backed chair, watching the displays with only a passing interest.

Morgentha produced a small multiool she kept in her belt and undid the screws holding the grille in place carefully. She then slid it away from the opening, drew a small finger blade and bit it between her teeth. Slowly she rolled forward and lowered herself through the opening until she was dangling only a few feet above the floor and when she was confident of the ground below her was safe she let go and landed silently.

Taking the blade out of her mouth in her right hand, she moved forward towards her unsuspecting victim. Thick bunches of bundled cables which crisscrossed the room from the shaft added extra difficulty to her advance and dodging these took time so the five metres to her victim took her much longer than she had anticipated. Finally, she stopped directly behind the chair, stood up to her full height and prepared to strike.

_'Bring Bring'...'Bring Bring…'_

Morgentha froze and for the briefest of moments, there was nothing else could do.

_'Bring Bring…"_

"Bloody hell, what do they want now?" the badger grumbled as he leant forward to pick up a blue telephone from the terminal to his right.

She waited. The calls timing couldn't have been worse.

The badger put it to his ear. "What?"

Morgentha could just about make out the voice on the other end of the phone and was able to hear the words 'attack' and 'high security'. They were not good words.

The security guard visibly jumped as the person on the other end of the phone told him his news. "Understood sir!" he almost shouted and slammed the handset back into is receiver. It took him a moment for the words to sink in and when they finally did he leant forward to flick a switch which was protected with a transparent plastic cover. "Remember step one Gerald, get all of the cameras up and running" he said to himself, or at least, so he thought.

Morgentha struck like a lightning bolt. She pinned the badgers hand to the terminal with her finger blade, skewering it to the metal underneath through flesh and bone alike. "I don't think so" she purred in the shocked victim's ear as she yanked back his head, drew her long stiletto dagger and opened his throat in one deft motion.

'_So' _she thought to herself as she replaced the daggers and let the dead badgers head drop to the console in front of him. _'They are expecting me'. _Morgentha took a moment to scan over all of the monitors in front of her, trying to locate one which looked like it might be a power conduit. The bright images flashed quickly in front of her and she struggled to keep up with them but just as she was about to give up, one of the display's to the right of the dead badger suddenly showed a picture of what could only be an engineering block. Multiple lines of generators ticked over whilst a handful of technicians tweaked their controls and took notes of data readouts.

"Bingo" she purred. Looking at the cameras number in the top right of the screen she quickly cross referenced it against the wall chart to find its location. Unfortunately it was located on the floor below and to her immediate east so she drew her silenced pistol, checked the poorly lit corridor beyond the exit for enemy and when she was satisfied the coast was clear she proceeded to head in the direction of the stairs.

When she reached them, she listened quickly for movement and then vaulted the barrier to drop down the centre of the stairwell to the floor ten metres below. Moving stealthily to the east she encountered no one else on her travels and was soon outside the thick door to the engineering room. Beyond the door she could already hear the hum of generators and not wanting to throw caution to the wind just yet, she produced an optical cable and slid it under the door. The retinal implant in her left eye immediately showed her what could be seen on the other side as she panned the cable in all directions. There were no visible technicians.

Replacing the cable she then opened the door slowly, pistol ready to engage anyone she had somehow missed on the initial scan. After she had entered the room without a hitch, she closed the door behind her slowly.

There was no doubt at all she was in the right place. The noise was so loud that she could probably fire her pistol unsilenced and not alert someone that was stood right next to her.

Now all that was left to do was figure out how to cripple the generators so she took another glance around and noticed a technician who was observing some dials nearby.

Using the ambient noise to her advantage she crept up on him, shoved the silencer of her pistol under his chin and pulled him backwards so that he was completely off balance.

"You are going to answer a few questions" she whispered. "And if you tell me what I want to know there is a chance you might live. Understand?"

The technician was too shocked and off centre to even consider defending himself and the presence of the pistols silencer being shoved under his chin vetoed any chance of him overpowering his assailant. "Don't kill me" he begged, resorting to the only option left available. "I have a family".

Morgentha dragged him backward a little out of the light and into the relative shadow of a corner of the generator room. "I am looking for a way to disable all of these generators and you are going to help me do just that, aren't you?"

The technician nodded a little.

"Is there a master control?"

"No, the generators work independently of each other"

"There must be a way for me to drop all of the generators at once… an override switch perhaps?"

The technician shook his head. "Please…"

Morgentha rolled her eyes and tightened her grip. "I will ask you one more time. How do I turn them off?"

"You could power them all up to maximum" the technician choked. "As long as you deactivated the safety cut offs, the generators would blow themselves"

"See, now we are working together. How do I do that?"

"You will need to access the main control panel over there…" the technician nodded in the direction of a large yellow panel with the word '_main controls restricted access'_ printed on it in black stencil.

"Good. Now let me tell you how this is going to work. We are going to walk over to the panel nice and steady, no heroic acts and no struggling. When we get there, you are going to do exactly what you just told me, understand?"

He nodded.

Morgentha shuffled out of the corner of the room whilst manhandling the worker. Together, they reached the control box and the technician fumbled with the key code to open it. When the cover did pop open, he grabbed the card which hung around his neck and inserted it into a slot just above a keyboard. The panel bleeped in recognition and a green light flashed into existence near the card reader.

Suddenly, a door opened behind them and two other technicians entered carrying hot drinks. They were talking between themselves and failed to notice Morgentha and her prisoner until it was far too late. They both looked at her, realised what she was doing and turned to run back the way they had just come.

Morgentha shifted her pistol and fired three shots into the backs of each of the fleeing workers, dropping them without a word. Before her captive could retain his balance she drew her stiletto knife and cut his hamstrings causing him to cry out in agony as he hit the floor with a thud. Leaving him to clutch his ruined legs, she walked over to the two engineers and was surprised to see that one of them was trying to crawl away so she shot him twice more in the back of the skull and he finally stopped.

"Where was I" she seethed, striding back over to the hamstrung technician and hoisting him to his feet. "As you were…"

She noticed with disgust that the now babbling creature had pissed himself. He started to press buttons with madly shaking hands and there was a loud click as the safeties disengaged. "Good boy, only one more thing to do…"

The technician tapped a few more buttons and immediately the generators started to pick up speed. Within moments the sound had become almost deafening. "Thank you for your assistance" Morgentha shouted over the noise. She dropped the hamstrung engineer to the floor and put five shots through the panel to prevent anyone else tampering with it.

"Please don't hurt me…I helped you…you said…"

She looked down at the pleading creature. "I lied…" she replied flatly, aimed the pistol and fired a single shot through his forehead. The engineer folded backward to the floor in a heap of dead flesh and blood.

Sitting down on his corpse, she opened a secure communication line direct to her master.

"Morgentha, I presume you have been successful…" the grandmaster asked.

"Yes my lord, all of the generators have been sabotaged. They will be destroying themselves in the next few moments"

"Excellent my pet … you truly are a piece of work …"

Morgentha smiled a wicked and hideous smile. "Thank you my lord"

One of the generators suddenly seized up and began to steam. Its dials pushed dangerously past the maximum marker. The burnout was beginning.

"And now that you are successful, does my pet want time to play?" the grandmaster asked her.

The assassin reloaded her pistol, dipped a finger casually in the dead technician's pool of blood and sucked it dry. "Your pet would like that very much" she replied.

"Go then, but remember to be a good girl and play nice…" he severed the link.

Morgentha stood up. The time for stealth was over and now, for her at least, the real fun could begin.

* * *

Finn sprinted up the rear access ramp and stopped for a few seconds to watch Rex arguing with some other female hologram. He had never heard half of the words that they were using and he made a mental note to ask Rex later to teach him some later. As he walked towards his cockpit, Drake stepped out from behind a storage rack and startled him.

"What's happening?"

"No idea" Finn replied, pushing past his friend. "By the way, whose is the hologram that Rex is having a domestic with?" he thumbed over his shoulder to point in the artificial pair's direction.

"That would be mine" Sally stated as she to stepped out from behind the storage rack. Finn took one look at Sally, then at Drake and based on the length of time he had known him; his mind instantly put two and two together. "Seriously?" he chuckled. "A queen?"

Sally looked on non-plussed. Drake shifted a little uneasily.

Bunny stepped out from behind the racks as well. "Hello" she smiled.

Finn was now gobsmacked. "You insatiable dog. How do you do it?"

Drake ignored him because over the pilots shoulder he could see another figure running towards the gunship and this time he knew immediately who it was. "Shit…Finn, get in there and get the bird started" he nodded to the cockpit. "And I suggest you both find somewhere cosy to sit in the storage compartment over there" he nodded towards a cramped little cubicle with only one door.

Sally and Bunny looked at each other, confused. "Why?" the queen asked eventually.

"Because if he sees you getting off now he will murder me"

It was clearly taking too long to sink in and wasted precious time that Drake didn't have. "For Edmunds sake, get in there" he shoved them both towards it, opened the door and forced them in.

Once they were secure he quickly walked down to where the holograms were still shouting obscenities at each other, picked up Sally's tablet and slammed it shut, cutting the holographic Lynx off mid-tirade.

He was just in time as Knuckles reached the bottom of the ramp and boosted up it.

"Close it" the guardian ordered as he headed in the direction of the cockpit.

Drake slammed the access button and the ramp began to hiss and whine as it rose. He followed the guardian to the cockpit but when he passed the storage compartment, where the queen and her handmaiden now hid, he opened up the door, dropped Nicole onto the floor and closed it again.

Knuckles slid the door to the cockpit open, thrust a map into Finns face and pointed at a large set of building marked on it. "Take us here as fast as you can"

Finn took the map, studied it for a moment and then started to tap co-ordinates into his navigation system. "Ten minutes on full afterburner" he told him.

"Good" Knuckles replied, tapping the pilot on the shoulder. "Go now". Knuckles closed the door behind him and a few moments later the gunship started to hover, spin in the direction of the target and got underway.

"What is it?" Drake asked his friend as Knuckles paced around the rear bay.

"They've hacked the Acornians communication systems, or at least someone is on the inside. The numbers we located are not a grid reference; they are an internal call sign for the largest of the queen's western outpost. The outpost houses power conduits, or something, which provide energy to all of the western defence batteries. If they go down…"

"There would be nothing to stop an invasion…" Drake finished.

"Precisely"

"And I take it we are now on our way to this base?"

Knuckles smiled dangerously and gripped a rail just before Flynn engaged the afterburners. The sudden massive increase in speed sent some unsecure piece of equipment flying towards the back of the aircraft. "I won't lie to you Drake; I don't know what we are going to see when we get there. It could be a few squads or it could be an army. Either way, they need our help"

"Understood boss. Do you need me to help you with your armour?"

Knuckles nodded. "If you would be so kind"

"Rex, open up the bay" Drake asked the computer. "And prep the canisters"

The AI was clearly listening. Attached to the inside of the gunship, directly opposite where Sally and Bunny silently hid, was a very large black cabinet. The doors hissed open to reveal a full suite of sinister looking jet black armour. Each of the individual plates of which it consisted was decorated with delicate patterns and outlined with a thin crimson band.

"Quickly Drake, we don't have much time" Knuckles exclaimed whilst removing his tee shirt and letting it drop to the floor.

* * *

Kolthar watched with mild interest out of viewing port of his Viper as the train of ground transports wove their way through the parched and bare landscape. They large black vehicles kicked up such a mammoth amount of dirt that the pilots of the protective gunships forming the close air support element had been force to fly higher than normal to avoid having their engines clogged and seized. Having been designed to carry dark legion infantry, not wolves who weighed considerably more, they had frequently got bogged down and he had been force to make the hard choice to leave two of the transports behind. Even that decision had caused further issues because Thrax refused to leave any of the wolves behind. The occupants of those two transports, nearly three hundred, had to be distributed quickly between the remaining vehicles so that the column could get underway again. What had started out as a text book operation was quickly devolving into a farcical display.

The wolves were quite literally packed like sardines inside the transports and even though he didn't like to admit it, Kolthar felt quite sorry for the drivers and crew who would be having to put up with the stench and, no doubt, copious amounts of bodily waste they generated. He also spared a brief thought for Halkon, Janus and Lathor who he now was sure would be at the very end of their endurance and patience.

"Pilot, how long till we reach the radar zone?"

The pilot took his sweet time replying. "Three minutes until we are in the maximum range of the batteries archon"

Morgentha was cutting it far too fine. Another three minutes and his whole chapter would be in range of air defence and long range battery fire. If she had failed to succeed in cutting the generators they were going to be in for a world of pain.

* * *

Ser Geoffrey and general Krauptman were breakfasting in Geoffrey's parlour. Having both been up all night working on maps they had decided after leaving the council that getting food first and then looking after their personal hygiene second was the best way forward. Geoffrey was busy running a thin layer of butter over some toast when he heard the unmistakable noise of high power engines starting up. "Hopefully they are leaving" he mumbled and took a bite.

Krauptman shook his head and walked over to a window which overlooked the parked gunships. "Looks like the guardianis getting ready to leave" he added. "And there seems to be quite the commotion going on down there as well. Glaive is shouting and getting all of the echidna's troops in to their vehicles"

"Strange…" Geoffrey added. He finished the toast he was eating and joined the general at the window with a steaming cup of coffee. The echidnas were indeed boarding their gunships. "Where the devil are they going?"

A loud nock on his parlour door broke both their attentions. "Come in" Geoffrey shouted.

"Sir, the guardian is leaving for the western base. He seems to think it is to come under attack shortly" the officer from the command room told him.

Krauptman laughed. "Then he is wrong captain, there is more hardware and man power in that base than in any other of our facilities on the western front. It would be suicide to attack it"

"That is exactly what I thought sir so I took the liberty of checking the power status for the western defence batteries…"

"And…?"

"They are offline sir. Someone has sabotaged the supply"

Ser geoffrey dropped his coffee. Krauptman stood immobile. Both of them were completely unable to process the captain's words. "Alert the queen" Geoffrey finally managed to order.

"That was the first thing I did sir and then I discovered the really big problem…" the young racoon squirmed.

The following silence was overwhelming. "Out with it man!" Geoffrey shouted.

"According to one of the queen's maids, her grace very much wanted to see what technology was on the visitor's aircraft. She was last seen conversing with the commander before the war council and hasn't been seen since"

A sonic boom rippled the parlours windows and Geoffrey and Krauptman looked out of the window again. The guardian's gunship was disappearing fast into the distance at incredible speeds.

"Shit…" they both said in unison.

* * *

"Incoming message for you lord" the pilot announced.

Kolthar tapped his wrist and opened the channel. "Morgentha, give me good news"

"The generators are down and the batteries are non-operational for at least fifteen minutes" she purred.

"Excellent…" the archon replied and severed the link. He took another casual look at the transports still grinding along slowly below and then opened up a network wide channel to contact all of his commanders. "Snake one zero to all snake call signs, the attack is confirmed, continue as per your orders…"

In perfect harmony the gunships began to peel away from the transports leaving the lumbering giants unprotected. Now free from escort duty, they engaged their full engine power and accelerated away into the distance. Kolthar gripped a handle to prevent being tossed about as his own pilot span his viper to the new heading and the engaged his engines. The ground column quickly became a fading speck on the horizon.

They were now completely on their own.

* * *

She couldn't believe that Drake had actually had the audacity to confine her.

Once she had recovered her senses she immediately tried opening the lock of the compartment door from the inside but it was shut tight and only the muffled sound of Knuckles voice beyond stopped her from kicking it off its hinges.

"Looks like we are in here for the long term Sal" Bunny whispered in the darkness. "Best get comfy".

"I refuse to be locked up like a piece of baggage" the queen replied, running her hands along the steel door in front of her. After a few moments of searching she managed to locate a small rectangular hatch no larger than a cigar. She opened it and the confines of the compartment were immediately illuminated so that she could now at least see her friend. Now that she had some light at least she could find Nicole who lay on the floor nearby.

Sally took a look out of the opening. Knuckles was directly opposite from her, bare chested and standing still whilst Drake secured shin guard. The artificial light in the transport bay illuminated his sculpted muscles and cast deep shadows under his spines. She was very surprised to see an intricate black tribal tattoo which covered his upper shoulders and ran down the length of his right arm, finishing just below the elbow. She guessed it continued to his chest but was unable to see and confirm for sure.

She pulled back into the compartment.

"What did you see?" Bunny asked, clearly intrigued.

Sally sat still. Unable to talk.

Bunny decided to take a look as well and when she caught sight of them both, she sighed loudly. Sally grabbed her round the shoulders and pulled her away from the opening. "Be quiet" she whispered.

"You so need to get in there" Bunny joked as she was pulled back.

Sally closed the hatch. "Shut up…"

"Seriously though Sal, wow…"

"I said shut up" the queen growled in warning.

Bunny eventually got the hint and bit her lip; it was clear that she had hit a nerve. "Are you okay?"

"I don't know" she sighed. "Sorry, I didn't mean to bite. I just feel funny. "Maybe it's the motion or something" Bunny stated as placed a hand on Sally's and gave it a squeeze.

"Maybe" Sally replied, knowing full well that it wasn't.

* * *

Jacob was the last aboard the final gunship and he gave the order to close the ramp to a waiting loadmaster. One of his command squad handed him his helmet as he sat down and strapped himself into his seat. Just as the aircraft got airborne his radio operator tapped him on the shoulder and passed him a handset.

"Who is it?" Jacob shouted, struggling to be heard over the roaring engines.

"Krauptman!" his operator shouted back.

Jacob nodded and placed the handset against his ear. "Go ahead general"

"Where is the queen?" Krauptman asked him.

"I have no idea where she is, the last I saw of her she wanted to get on board the guardians gunship to take a look around. I left her with Drake…"

"She is nowhere to be found, I think she might have stowed away on the guardian's aircraft and is now on route to a possible warzone" the general bellowed at him.

Jacob sighed. "Leave it with me general, I will contact the guardian now and find out what is going on" he passed the handset back to his radio operator and made a chopping motion to tell him to cut the call. Jacob then pressed a button on his gauntlet to open up a link to the guardian; if the queen was on board then he would need to turn around.

* * *

_"Incoming call for you guardian its commander Glaive"_

Knuckles tightened his belt. "Put him on speaker Rex"

"Guardian, you may to return to the palace" Jacobs voice boomed over the announcement system

"Why?" Knuckles asked, genuinely puzzled, continuing to adjust his armour.

"Krauptman is going spare; he thinks you have the queen on board"

Knuckles stopped. "Why would the queen be on board my gunship?"

"I think Drake might have been letting her take a look around earlier before we started loading up. She might have stowed away"

Knuckles turned to Drake who was just finishing securing the left shoulder guard into place. "We don't have the queen on board do we?" he asked.

Drake smiled weakly. "Well, you know, it's funny you should ask that…"


	11. Chapter 10 Whos afraid

**Who's afraid of the big bad wolf?**

Morgentha laughed manically as she watched everyone flee in terror before her. Her pistol had long ago run dry so she had been forced to resort to using anything that came to hand with which to slay her victims. The command centre dripped with blood and gore from most of its surfaces whilst bodies lay scattered around in various states of wholeness. Two of her victims, a squirrel and a fox, jigged as high voltage mains current coursed through their veins. Morgentha was particularly proud of her ingenuity of having used power cables to murder them both.

Her onslaught in the command room had been so quick and so violent that the staff had even forgotten to sound the alarm to warn the rest of the garrison. The fact that the base remained silent annoyed her furiously because she always liked to weave her dance to the rhythmic sounds of a klaxon call. The steady wailing of an alarm was a good beat to kill to and reminded her of the endless hours of combat training in the fighting pits where the sword masters used a continuous drum beat to hone their pupil's basic skills.

On the giant main screen of the command centre she could see a picture of the parade ground and the hundreds of soldiers who stood to attention in their ranks.

What they couldn't see though, was the twenty two red dots on the radar screen before her, flashing and getting ever closer. Each indicated a transport filled with wolves that the archon of the seventh was brining to the party. It was going to be so much fun and she almost clapped in excitement.

The soft sound of a footstep behind her indicated that someone had decided to be a hero. And as she turned to face her assailant a lone trooper entered the command room and fired a long burst of shots with his rifle at where she was stood. Before he had even pulled the trigger though, Morgentha was moving. She closed the distance to him faster than he could register, jumping from desk to desk, and his shots ricocheted off the command terminals shattering the main screen in a shower of thick glass.

Morgentha grabbed the soldier's rifle, twisted it out of his hands and threw it away. Before he could fight back she hoisted him from his feet by his throat, crushing his larynx between her powerful fingers. "I have a use for you before you die" she smiled wickedly to his face as she drew a dagger and opened his stomach in a wide slash. The soldier's internals spilled out and he screamed in agony as she threw him to the floor. "Pick yourself up and get out" she growled nodding to the nearby exit. "If you can make it outside, someone might be able to save you"

The soldier, still numb in shock, clutched at his spilt intestines trying to stuff them back in place. He staggered to his feet and half ran half fell down the corridor screaming for help.

Morgentha smiled wickedly and left to find new playthings.

* * *

Parade ground etiquette meant that what should be only the simple three minute ceremony of raising a flag, always took ten times that long.

He was desperate for the toilet and was hungry due to missing breakfast. On arrival at the parade square he gave the parade commander a note from the physician saying that he couldn't stand for more than ten minutes due to weak knees but the bastard had torn it up and literally ate it.

That annoyed him as it had taken nearly three weeks to forge the doctor's signature to a high enough standard for it to be of any use and he didn't know if he could do it again.

A lone bugler pierced the stillness of the cold morning air with a fanfare and the flag started to ascend slowly.

The parade commander stepped forward smartly and prepared to shout an order but stopped short as a half dead soldier ran out onto the square, writhed for a few moments in agony and then expired noisily whilst clutching his intestines.

Even Sprot had to admit that it was pretty damn unusual.

* * *

When Knuckles opened the storage compartment door he was met with the two crouched forms of the queen and her handmaiden. The sudden rush of light must have taken them by surprise because they both had to blink a few times to get accustomed it. He took one look at them both and the cramped area into which they had hid and immediately started to anger. "Drake, you have a few seconds to explain yourself before I kill you" he shouted.

"I think you will find that he doesn't need to explain anything guardian" Sally interrupted as she stepped out and stretched her back painfully. "And you won't be killing anyone. I asked him to show me around your aircraft and it was all going nicely until the commotion started. In a panic, and fearing an attack, we both hid in here and Drake closed the door to protect us, isn't that right sergeant?"

Knuckles glared at Sally, the compartment and then at Drake. "You locked the queen in there?"

Drake waved his hands in reply. "Sort of" he squirmed, dumfounded that the queen was covering for him.

"_Guardian, four minutes to target" _Finn broadcasted over the loudspeaker.

"We need to get you back to the palace" Knuckles said flatly to the queen.

"No you don't" Sally replied whilst helping Bunny exit the compartment somewhat ungracefully. "What is going on?"

The guardian crossed his arms and scowled, as if deciding to answer her question. He eventually complied. "Your western outpost is about to come under attack. We are on route to assist them and we will be there in less than four minutes. I am not taking you into a warzone" he moved to step past her and enter the cockpit to tell Finn to turn around.

"Why?" Sally asked, stepping in front of him and blocking his route with her own body.

"Because you're the queen"

"And you're a guardian, in essence a king to your own people. So do tell me why it is justifiable for you to risk your life and not me?" the queen crossed her arms as well in defiance.

Drake whistled and backed off. Bunny did the same. Both knew when to stay well clear of an argument.

"Because…because…"

"Because what guardian... because I'm a woman... because I'm a liability… what?"

Knuckles grunted in defeat. He couldn't be bothered arguing with her and the target was, by now, a few minutes away. "Fine, if you want to put yourself in danger then so be it. Stay on board and under no circumstances take any stupid risks which might get yourself hurt or killed. Drake is going to take personal responsibility for you both and as soon as the rest of my men get to the target you are going back to the palace on the fastest gunship I can find"

This clearly still wasn't what Sally wanted to hear but she let him feel like he had won at least some small victory. "Very well but how can we help until then?"

"By staying out of sight"

Sally harrumphed indignantly, turned around on the spot and sat down on the nearest folding seat muttering curses to herself under her breath. Bunny joined her.

"Drake…vials…now"

"On it" Drake said as he grabbed a small reinforced box out of the cabinet and placed it near Knuckles feet. The guardian knelt down and shifted the spines at the back of his neck aside to reveal a small black plate on the back of his armour in-between his shoulder blades.

"What is that?" Sally asked, suddenly interested.

Ignoring her, Drake popped open the lid of the flight box and carefully produced a small rack of five vials, each no more than a centimetre long. The five vials were completely black except for a small slit in each one revealed the different colour of its contents. Blue, red, green, yellow and white, each seemed to throb with a dangerous looking energy that was clearly only barely contained within them. "Ready?" Drake asked.

"Do it" the guardian ordered.

Drake slipped the vials into position between his shoulders and they locked in place with an audible click. The guardian immediately started to shake violently as the contents rapidly merged with his body, muscles tensing and untensing at a staggering rate. Eventually, after what seemed like minutes but could only have been seconds, the shakes ceased abruptly. "All good?" Drake asked.

Knuckles stood up, breathed deeply and nodded. "All good"

"_One minute to target guardian" _Finn announced.

Sally watched on as Drake took both of the large calibre pistols from the wall mount inside the cupboard and passed them to Knuckles. The guardian loaded them and placed them in the holsters he had attached to his thigh armour plates. "You are going down there alone?" she asked, suddenly realising his intention.

"Yes" he replied woodenly and began to walk to the rear of the bay and slammed the open controls. The ramp started to descend.

"_Thirty seconds"_

The guardian braced himself as the gunship rapidly disengaged out of supersonic flight. "Rex, I need a clear drop zone. If there is anything in my way that looks hostile, kill it and make me an entrance" he shouted.

_ "Understood guardian" _Rex's gruff voice replied as weapon pods and armament engaged from internal bays all-round the aircraft. Moments later tell-tale streaks of missiles could be seen behind the gunship accompanied by the drone of multiple chain guns firing.

_"Ten seconds guardian. By Edmund it looks like a free for all down there" _Finn broadcasted.

"Good…" he replied and stepped out into the sky.

* * *

Everyone was taken by surprise as the large armoured transports barrelled through the outer defences, smashed down the guard towers and came to a halt only a few hundred metres away from the still parading troops. A few quick individuals, who were clearly quicker on the mark than their colleagues, broke ranks and immediately started to run in the opposite direction but it took precious seconds for the rest of the soldiers to wake up and consider that they should probably do the same.

The ramps on the transports dropped to the concrete with a loud clang, unleashing the wolves upon the facility. They charged towards the fleeing unarmed troops screaming bloodthirsty cries at the top of their voices, all of them armed with brutal close combat weapons and prepared to messily butcher anything that got in range.

Sprot noticed with some interest that the parade commander was the first to die, literally sliced in half by particularly massive individual wearing blood red armour. Even before the officer's body had hit the floor the monstrosity that killed him was looking for more targets to pursue.

For the briefest of seconds, Sprot's eyes locked with the wolf.

It roared in fury and began to run towards him.

Sprot pissed himself.

* * *

Halkon opened the top hatch of his transport and took a deep breath of fresh oxygen. The wolves were running amok, weapons flashing sending blood and body parts flying through the air. He racked his vehicles heavy cannon charging handle and took aim at the back of the wolves as they set about their work, completely unaware of the double-cross he was about to perform.

"All stations get ready, fire on my command".

The other transports hatches opened and their guns were immediately manned by more legionnaires. He steadied himself and started to squeeze the trigger.

"Sir, a gunship!" one of the other gunners cried out in warning, pointing at a solitary black aircraft that had arrived from nowhere and was now almost upon them.

"New target!" Halkon shouted. "Target the aircraft and bring it down!" he span the cannon to aim and pressed the trigger sending high calibre pulse shots towards it. The rest of the legionnaires opened up with him.

He watched in horror as the gunship sprouted new appendages that looked a lot like missile pods. It fired.

He was still roaring with rage as the whole of his world turned white.

* * *

The explosion which blossomed in front of him was so immense he could see nothing else. A wall of heat the likes of which he had never known hit him so hard it lifted him from his feet and propelled him through the air. Sprot was only dimly aware of the feeling of weightlessness followed by a hard thump and agony as his body realised that gravity actually still existed and reapplied it with vengeance. Then, thankfully, he passed out.

* * *

Knuckles rolled as he hit the ground and used the momentum he had gained to spring to his feet and come up ready. He immediately realised that Rex had done a sterling job but the ground in front of him was a mess. Concrete of what might have been a parade ground had been torn to pieces, massive smoking holes which glowed white hot were dotted around where the ordnance had detonated and a haze of heat distorted everything he could see.

The few seconds the initial shock provided gave him time to assess the situation.

Wolves, lots of big and pissed off wolves.

Some were in the stages of picking themselves up after having been thrown through the air by the shockwave but there were a lot more that had already got to their feet and were beginning to move towards him with malicious purpose.

_Attack. Kill as many as I can before they gain momentum. _

He grabbed his pistols and began to dual wield them, snatching at the triggers as quickly as he could. At such close range accuracy was of little importance and the heavy calibre shells punched holes clean through his enemy's thin metal armour and straight through their flesh, some even killing the wolves behind. Dozens dropped to the floor dead in the initial salvo and when his sidearm's ran dry he quickly reloaded them and continued with his onslaught. Even though he had fired over eighty shots it still wasn't enough to halt their advance and those that were dead or in the process of dying were simply stepped over by more wolves eager to close with the new threat.

His pistols quickly flashed empty a second time and with no further time to reload he let them fall to the ground and concentrated on calling up the power that was stored inside the vials between his shoulder blades. Even though he could access potent levels of emerald energy without them, the vials contained undiluted shards of the precious stones which magnified his abilities a hundredfold.

He was going to need a great deal of it to survive the frenzy that was to come in the next few moments.

The wolves broke into a run, closing the gulf incredibly quickly. They began to howl and scream with barely controlled fury ready to tear him limb from limb.

Knuckles concentrated, trying to ignore the incoming wall of flesh. He closed his eyes.

Red emerald. Strength. Anger. Fury.

Green emerald. Healing. Regeneration.

Yellow emerald. Clarity.

He tapped into the powers within, utilising them to increase his potency and finally, reacting to his subconscious request, a pair of solid and lethal spikes jutted from the bones on each of his hands.

He crashed his fists together, opened his eyes and by the time the wolves were close enough to strike, the guardian was a different beast entirely.

* * *

Drake cocked the charging handle of his rifle and leant out of the back of the gunship to take aimed shots at the wolves below who were currently engaging the guardian.

"Can't we do something to help?" Sally shouted at him.

Drake emptied the last of his magazine in a controlled burst and quickly reloaded. "Rex, open the side hatches and lower the guns!" he screamed at the AI.

Sally's hair whipped uncontrollably as the hatches opened and the air rushed in. Once they had slid away, multiple barrelled cannons dropped into place from the ceiling and began cycling, ready to fire.

"Get on the guns" he shouted at the queen and her friend. All you have to do is point and pull the trigger. Aim at the wolves on the outsides and for Edmunds sake please don't shoot at Knuckles!"

Sally and Bunny grabbed the handles on the cannons and took up their places behind them. "Just like shooting apples in a barrel!" Bunny shouted before she pressed the trigger, sending hundreds of high calibre pulses into the midst of the wolves below. Sally looked down the sight of her weapon trying to find suitable targets but all she could focus on was the brutal melee taking place in the centre of the parade ground. Hundreds of wolves were concentrated in a press of close combat and she could just about make out Knuckles in the centre of it all as he set about the wolves, landing blow after blow when they came too close.

She watched on astonished as one wolf was quite literally propelled through the air by an inhumanly powerful uppercut and another was launched into a group of his own troops, knocking them flat.

But it was clear from her vantage point that regardless how well he was fighting; the wolves were slowly gaining the upper hand through sheer weight of numbers.

Sally suddenly spotted one of them behind Knuckles. He was raising a dreadful looking axe clearly ready to strike him a lethal blow.

"No you don't" Sally whispered, took aim and depressed the trigger.

* * *

Knuckles ducked a blow from a wolf directly in front of him and replied with a scything roundhouse to the head that broke its neck and sent the body careening into some of its nearby friends, knocking them over. Another wolf stepped in from his right and swept at him with a crude axe. He shifted out of the swing, waited for the wolf to overbalance himself and punched him in the lower back, breaking the creature's spine with a loud crack. The wolf folded to the floor with a whimper.

Two of them then charged him at the same time. The left of the pair tried to skewer him with a long sword whilst the other attempted to dash his brains with a crude club. Knuckles sidestepped the sword lunge and used his right shoulder plate to take the blow from the club. Despite its stunning effect he recovered, grabbed the wolf with the club by the neck and punched him square in the face. The wolfs whole cranium imploded messily.

The other wolf with the sword swiped at his head and he ducked just quickly enough to avoid being decapitated. Rising up he kneed the creature in the stomach causing it to bend over. He double handed it between the shoulders, knocking it to the floor and as it lay there stunned he stamped on its neck, crushing its windpipe.

Suddenly a stream of plasma shots screamed over him and vaporised a wolf that he hadn't seen creeping up behind. The extreme heat of the close range firepower singed some of his fur so badly that he could immediately smell it burning. Briefly looking up for the gunner to give them a piece of his mind, and fully expecting to see Drake's smirking face, he was gobsmacked to see the queen.

* * *

"I said don't shoot at the fucking guardian!" Drake bellowed. "What part of _don't_ does your royal highness not under-fucking-stand!"

Sally looked over at the sergeant who was still firing out the back of the viper. "I just saved his life actually!" she shouted back at him.

Drake shook his head. "Whatever, just keep shooting. But, and let me make this perfectly clear again, not at the guardian!"

Sally bit down the urge to walk over and kick him out the back of aircraft. "Men…" she simply grunted in disgust and returned to her task.

* * *

Jacob sat patiently and tried to ignore the shaking which rattled his bones. Like all of the other troopers in the aircraft he was locked into his seat via an intricate harness which prevented most movement. However the flight was still particularly violent.

The standard gunships that the echidna military used were not as well built or as well designed as the guardian's personal aircraft so at high speed and low level they shook violently as turbulence pummelled them from every direction.

He looked around into the faces of the men who sat around him, subconsciously judging their worth. Many were young but some were older, veterans who had been part of the outfit for a long time and new all the tricks and procedures. Age, though, mattered very little in this outfit as every one of the men that were now flying into combat with him was an highly capable soldier and the very best that their own regiments had to offer. They knew that it was a great honour to be chosen to serve in the guardians own hand-picked squads and all of them would gladly give their life for him if he asked for it.

So far he hadn't and Jacob hoped he never would.

Suddenly the pilots hatch swung open and broke his melancholy. "Sir…" the co-pilot shouted as loud as he could "you should probably come take a look at this…"

* * *

It was painfully clear to Thrax that the wolves were now getting much more than they had bargained for.

The attack had started out exactly as planned, but suddenly a solitary demon and his flying bird of death had dropped in their midst to spoil the party. Until now, he had deliberately held back from the fight in order to get the measure of his prey but he was very aware that it he didn't strike soon there was a chance that the rest of the packs might break and then there would be no stopping them.

There was nothing else for it. He would have to swat this fly personally and then get on with the killing.

Thrax stepped forward out of the throng, drew his second blade and squared up to the echidna in front of him. "Now it's Thrax's turn" he roared.

Knuckles backtracked a good few paces in order to size up his new enemy. "What the hell do they feed you?" he asked, more to himself than to the wolf. The creature carried two vicious looking swords and was literally drooling with frenzy. "I suppose you are the leader then?" he asked.

"Thrax will smash you puny ekidna" the wolf howled. "Eat your heart and take your skull as trophy"

The guardian took a deep breath to calm his overbeating heart and glanced for a moment at the mill the wolves behind the monster. They held a respectful distance clearly realising that this was a one on one combat. That was good. Kill this leader and it will kill their will to continue the fight.

"Let's go then puppy, if you think you have what it takes" he goaded.

Thrax roared with anger and lunged at him, blades descending in a sweeping motion to try and cut off his legs at the thighs. Knuckles back flipped to dodge the blades and stepped to one side letting the beast lose his balance. Thrax fell over. Knuckles laughed, goading him.

The wolf roared again and stood up, running his swords down each other's blades causing sparks to fly. "Nice trick ekidna"

Knuckles smiled and ran at him, right fist raised. The wolf dodged low and slashed with his right sword, connecting with Knuckles armour plate which covered his left waist. The sheer force of the blow sent the guardian staggering sideways struggling to retain his balance. He quickly checked the plate and noticed with concern how it was buckled inwards. "Nice one" he seethed, knowing full well that there was probably a cracked rib or two behind the plate. "But is that all you have you piece of shit?"

Thrax laughed and came at him again, using his swords independently of each other in a windmill action, trying to chop him in half. Knuckles blocked all of the strikes with his gauntlets, fending them off safely to the sides and when the wolf tired he shoulder barged him backward and head-butted him on the maw.

Now it was Thrax's turn to be stunned. He hadn't expected the stinging blow to his face and he struggled to clear his pain clouded eyes.

Even as his enemy was recovering, Knuckles staggered back clutching his skull. The head-but, which had seemed a brilliant idea right up until it landed, had rattled his mind and he shook his head to try and clear the haze of agony, readying himself for the next assault.

Thrax recovered first. He launched himself again at his opponent attempting to knock him over so he could overpower him but just before making contact, Knuckles grabbed the wolf by the throat and threw him to the ground. The floor literally shook with the impact.

The guardian stepped over his prone enemy and struck him with a strong bone cracking left hand blow to the upper spine. Thrax howled in pain but the Knuckles didn't give him a moment of respite as he gripped Thrax's right sword hand and twisted it until the wrist joint snapped with a sickening crunch.

The wolf dropped his blade and Knuckles lifted him from the floor. He kicked Thrax's legs out from under him and wrapped his right arm around the wolf's neck in attempt to squeeze the life out of him.

For the next minute or so Thrax fought like a madman, realising that he was close to losing the battle. Knuckles held on for dear life and later would recall those long seconds as one of the hardest pure strength to strength battles he had even known. But in the end, even Thrax's impressive stamina failed and he realised that he simply couldn't break the vice like choke hold Knuckles had placed on him.

"Any last words for your friends?" The guardian grunted in the wolf's ear.

Thrax bucked a few more times, legs kicking wildly as he clutched at the guardians wrist and arms. It was no use.

Knuckles roared and twisted his enemies head violently. Thrax's neck broke with a loud crack, killing him instantly. The guardian held his body for a moment until he stopped shaking and then let it drop to the floor.

"Who's next then?" he asked the assembled wolves.

They broke. Many of then dropped their weapons on the spot and ran back towards the transports which were still sitting immobile. The rest stood transfixed wondering if they should try to avenge their leader's death or run away with the others.

"Get down!" someone shouted behind him and Knuckles instantly obliged, throwing himself to the floor.

Rapid gunfire zipped over his head as the troops that had run for their lives only minutes before returned fully armed. They mercilessly cut down the fleeing wolves in volley after volley of controlled shots and none of those who started the assault made it back to the transports.

* * *

Jacob pressed the open button on his harness and the four straps immediately gave way. He stood up, gripped the hand rail in the centre of the bay and used it to unsteadily make his way to the front of the aircraft trying not to lose his balance. When he was close enough, the co-pilot grabbed his forearm and guided him in through the door.

"What is it?" he asked.

The co-pilot pointed towards the large sensor screen in front of him. In the very right hand segment he could see upwards of fifty white flashing dots rapidly exiting off the edge of the display. "There were more but they disappeared before you got here"

"Aircraft?"

The co-pilot nodded. "Bloody loads of them sir. They are at the very edge of our sensor range. They are moving at one hell of a speed sir"

Jacob let the man's words sink in for a moment, a feeling of dread creeping up into the pit of his stomach. Even though pound for pound they were complete bastards, you had to appreciate the legions cunning. "How fast?"

"Put it this way sir, I only know two types of aircraft which can move that quick and your flying in one of them"

Jacob understood immediacy what he was saying. Vipers.

"Your orders sir?"

"Get us back to the palace as quick as you can"

The co-pilot nodded in understanding and Jacob left him to his task. He turned around and proceeded to use the handrail to try and make it back to his seat but was nearly pitched over it as the pilot violently banked the gunship. He waited for a moment to get his balance and then continued.

"Are you okay sir?" he communications officer asked him as he sat back down and secured himself back in.

"Yes" he replied. "Contact the palace and tell them to get ready for an aerial assault. Tell them the legion is coming for the queen"

"But isn't the queen with the guardian?" the officer asked, puzzled.

"They don't know that" Jacob replied, the faintest trace of a smile on his lips.

* * *

Knuckles rolled onto his back and tried to force some deep breaths back into his aching lungs. Thrax's body lay beside him, head twisted at a sickening angle, tongue lolling out.

The pain in his side was lessening as the green emerald which controlled his healing rate dumped blockers into his blood stream but the cracked ribs were still exquisite agony. He might have the emeralds for assistance but broken bones still took days to heal properly.

Instinctively he checked for damage, patting himself down in a quick assessment. Doing so he found that he had lost two armour plates, one on his left bicep and the other on this right thigh. He was also surprised to find that he had taken more blows than he thought he had and could feel numerous cuts and grazes all over his thighs and arms. When he ran his hands over his face to clear the dust his gloves came back soaked with blood. "Hope that's not mine" he said to himself but then suddenly remembered the head-but. "Note to self, do not use head as a weapon on anything with large teeth"

"Guardian, come in…"

Knuckles lay dazed for a moment until he could figure out where the noise had come from. Eventually he realised someone was trying to contact him so he tapped a button on his gauntlet. "What is it?" he asked.

"We are nearly at your location but the pilots have picked up over fifty contacts on our sensor. They were at the very edge of range but I am confident they are heading for the palace"

Knuckles swore as he immediately grasped the deviousness of the legions plan. The wolves had been nothing more than a distraction and had fell for it hook, line and sinker. "Get back to the palace Jacob, contact Krauptman and tell him to get ready"

"Already on it. ETA ten minutes. Are you okay?"

Knuckles groaned a little as his head told him it wasn't. "Peachy. The palace is yours Jacob, I will keep the queen safe here. You know what needs to be done"

"Understood guardian. Glaive out"

The sound of sudden footsteps fast approaching focused his attention. "Thanks for giving me a warning" he exclaimed to no-one in particular.

"You're welcome!" a soldier replied. "Do you need a medic?"

Knuckles looked up into the face of a fox. Suddenly, more faces appeared around him, silhouetted against the clear morning sky. "No" he said.

"I can't believe you managed to fend them off on your own. How the hell did you do it…there were hundreds!" one of the other faces asked him.

Knuckles waved him off and sat up. "Where is the queen?" he asked.

The fox looked at him as if he was mad. "The queen? Why would she be here?"

"Long story"

His gunship suddenly filled the sky above them, pummelling them all with its furious down blast. After a few moments to steady the aircraft, Finn piloted it down onto the concrete a few metres away and cut the engines.

Sally came running down the ramp and over to the assembled clutching an assault rifle and Knuckles smiled at the priceless looks on the troops faces as they set eyes on their combat ready monarch. A few of them knelt whilst the others were too gobsmacked to respond.

Sally walked forward and beckoned them all to stand. "Thank you gentlemen but I fear that this isn't the right place or time for such formalities". Sally looked down at the sitting guardian and tidied away some wayward strands of hair that had fallen in front of her face. "That has to be the most stupid and dangerous thing I have ever seen anyone do. You could have been killed. Why in your right mind did you think dropping into the midst of hundreds of crazed wolves was a good idea?" she held out a hand.

Knuckles took it and stood up. "I thought I told you not to do anything stupid?"

"Your bleeding" she replied, ignoring his counter question. "You have a large gash on your head that needs medical attention.

"Its nothing that cant wait" he replied, waving her off. "Besides we have more pressing issues to deal with now."

Sally frowned. "Like what?"

"Jacob thinks that the palace is about to come under attack"

"From whom?" Sally shouted in distress.

"Based on the information I have, my initial guess is from an entire legion chapter. It looks like this attack was a distraction to keep your troops occupied and they clearly enticed these poor bastards to take the hit whilst the real assault bypassed us and headed on". He gestured to the dead Thrax and the wolves that lay next to his feet. "It worked like a charm and I never even saw it coming"

"We must go back" the queen protested and she turned towards the gunship which was sat nearby.

Knuckles grabbed her arm. "No"

Sally tried to wiggle free from his grasp. "I beg your pardon" she seethed. "That is my palace they are about to destroy, I _will _be going back to help"

"No you wont" he stated in a tone that brooked absolutely no argument. "Due to your insatiable curiosity we have actually outwitted them. Please think this through logically for a moment your highness. If you return to the palace now you will just be walking right into a trap that you narrowly managed to escape from. They think you are still there."

"I will not let them burn my home" she replied.

"Your grace, I am sorry but the guardian is right" Bunny interrupted.

"Thank you" Knuckles added. "Listen to me Sally. Jacob is on his way back to the palace as we speak and I am confident that the legion has no idea that he or his force is present on Mobius. They might very well attack the palace but they won't be getting out again. Jacob will trap them and destroy them"

Sally pulled away angrily, rubbing her arm to get some life back into it. "So you would just have me sit here do nothing whilst my palace and its people are slaughtered?"

"Not at all. Take a look around, what do you see?"

For the first time stepping off the gunship Sally did look and immediately wished she hadn't. Whilst it had seemed almost like a game to her as she flew around the battle shooting at the wolves as they attacked the guardian, the grim reality and aftermath of her actions were very real. In every direction lay the dead or dying that were covered in blood, spilt organs or excrement. The smell of the singed flesh and fur, caused by plasma shots from the gun she had using, was noxious and choking. Further out she could see the dead bodies of dozens of troops that had not managed to flee the initial massacre whilst those that still barely lived clutched their wounds and cried out for help or mercy.

The sight of such butchery caused bile to immediately rise in her throat but she managed to somehow keep it in check. Throwing up in front of hersubjects was not likely to be seen as regal.

Knuckles placed his hands on her shoulders to steady her. "This is war your grace, the dirty and disgusting side of it at least, and many of these men need medical assistance or they will die. They need your help"

Sally nodded. He was right of course but it didn't make it any easier to bear or deal with. "Who is the senior rank here now?" she asked.

"That honour would be mine your highness" the fox replied. "Captain Taylor at your service".

Sally looked him up and down. The captain was a fox in his mid-twenties and handsome in a rugged kind of way. He should have been full of life and vigour but his eyes told her clearly that he had already seen too much in the last four years of war and he was aged far beyond his years. "Captain, fan out and take those that are injured to the infirmary. Any beyond help will have to wait. Round up anyone you can find with medical experience and all of the supplies you can find"

The officer saluted and immediately started ordering his troops to do as his queen had commanded. As he did so the guardian searched around and found his pistols lying under a pair of dead wolves. He reloaded them and then proceeded to stalk through the piles of bodies as if hunting for something.

"What are you doing?" Bunny asked him.

Knuckles found a wolf that was still barely alive clutching at a smoking hole in its chest with weak paws. Blood covered the poor beast from head to toe and it was immediately clear that there was no way to save him. The guardian leant down and cradled its head in the crook of his left arm. He then placed the muzzle of his pistol against its temple and squeezed the trigger.

Both the queen and her handmaiden recoiled in shock at the sudden gunshot.

"I would suggest that you go and help the others" he told them both.

"Come on Sal, you don't need to see this" Bunny said as she took the queens arm in her own and walked her in the direction of the troops that were helping the wounded.

Before they had made it very far another shot echoed out in the crisp morning air and it wasn't the last.

* * *

Halkon woke up in a haze with the taste of blood in his mouth. After a few moments or orientation he realised that he was still sat behind the cannon and tried hard to recall what had happened. All he could remember was the descending gunship, firing the gun and then a blinding white light. "Janus, Lathor, where the hell are you, what's going on?" he shouted.

Silence.

"Janus, Lathor, you bastards, where are you!" he shouted again, this time louder.

"Sorry mate, I haven't seen either of them. But I did take a quick shufty around and couldn't find anyone else so it looks like they might have deserted you. Friends huh, what are they like…"

Halkon turned to see an unshaven brown echidna in green flak armour sitting on top of the transport next to him. He was smoking a cigarette and casually pointing an assault rifle in his direction. "Who the hell are you?" he asked.

Drake lazily puffed out a smoke ring. "No one you know at the moment mate, but just between you and me, I reckon we are going to become best friends pretty damn sharpish. Want a smoke?"


End file.
